Corrupted Equilibrium
by Link4000z
Summary: Based on a year long 4e D&D campaign written out in prose, Corrupted Equilibrium follows a set of adventurer's as they hunt down a sorcerer bent on resurrecting a long dead wizard. However, as secrets fly out into the open and the line between right and wrong becomes blurred, will the heroes live up to their namesake or be corrupted onto the path of darkness? Feedback welcome!
1. Lore and Background Information

**Lore and Background Information**

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NOTE: THIS CHAPTER IS NOT NECESSARY TO READ BUT IT IS RECOMMENDED. IT CAN PROVIDE BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR THE CHARACTERS AND LOCATIONS, BUT IS OTHERWISE NOT NECESSARY TO THE STORY.

**Author's Note**

This opening chapter is a quick glimpse into the background of the campaign and also provides some of the character bios for the players of the actual game. This story is an actual campaign that I DMed and wrote out in prose. The entire campaign lasted about a year and has a beginning, middle, and end all in three acts. A sequel campaign is in the works now.

Everything is written out as it happened: All the rolls, all the player complaints, all the odd occurrences that happened in our interactions while playing at the table, and all the twists and turns of the story that I forced the players through. However, they are written in as lore as if everything really did happen within the world we created in our minds. Our campaign took us on many adventurers, from the funniest of moments to some moments that actually seemed serious in consequence.

Throughout each chapter you will find the story itself along with several links to pictures, music used during the game, and more bios for characters that jumped in and out of the story. These will be located at the bottom of every chapter and instructions on how to find them. Consider this story somewhat of an interactive experience while reading and I encourage everyone to use the other resources to their benefit to enhance the reading experience.

Below is a history of the world which I handed out to the players before our first session and also the bios that were handwritten by the players themselves as they first started to flesh out their characters.

This project has taken a long time to complete and even though it began as a little side thing for my friends and I to do just so we can say to people, "Yeah, I used to play D&D," it became much more. I am very proud of where it has gone and where it will continue to go and I'd like to thank all the players for sticking with me through the whole year. It is as much their story as it is mine. We are all the author.

I have much of the story already written out and I hope to update it on this website every Monday.

Now we invite you to get a feel of what it was like to sit at our table and see where our minds have taken us on our campaign.

~DM Link4000z

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**History of the World**

Continent – Raleo, Aelar Island

No one knows when life first began in the world, but recorded time began over 4500 years ago. For over 2000 of those years two warring fractions fought over the land of Raleo. They were the Aneth and the Crathsis. Though a treaty was formed and relative peace returned, this treaty was eventually broken by the Anethia King and war resumed.

With the resurgence of war, many believed that dark times lay ahead for Raleo. Many lives were lost when Marinio Aneth broke the treaty with the Crathsis once again starting the 2000 year old war. However, as time grew it seemed that the Aneth were gaining an upper hand in the war. Marinio himself seemed to have powers granted to him by the Gods. It wasn't unlikely to see him in the midst of battle with his men, wielding otherworldly powers and crushing his opponents. So terrifying was he, some wondered if he hadn't made a pact with some of the malign gods of the world. Either way, the Crathsis put up a good fight, but their support was weak when faced with the awesome power of Marinio and his men.

Perhaps the greatest turning point was in 4056 when Marinio's son, Prince Maradan reached out to the smaller races of the kingdom and promised them more power if they were to join in the fight against the Crathsis. Thus, the Crathsis' focus on keeping power with the human race and suppressing the smaller ones was their downfall. Not accepting the help of the minor races proved to be their undoing as a united Aneth stormed Crathanen and took it over. The Crathanen King was captured and later executed. Thus the Era of Aneth began marking the new year 1 AN.

Relative peace has returned to Raleo, but not all was perfect. After Marinio's death, Maradan was crowned King. He did not fully keep his promises to the lower races. Humans and elves still seem dominant in the land and the Kingship is always passed down to the King's son – something that was supposed to be more diplomatic in process. The gods seem to have also gone quiet as prayers are left unanswered and miracles are not seen as often as before. Yet, the Kings of Aneth still do seem to hold some otherworldly power which is passed down to each King in the bloodline that even the top wizards and sorcerers of the land cannot explain.

However, advances were made. Expeditions to explore outside of Raleo were charted and enacted. This first began with an expansion to the north past the borderlands and into uncharted territory. Since the first expansion to today, not much progress has been made in large part to the very territorial, humanoid creatures living there. Progress to the West and into the Great Unknown were much more successful. A fleet of ships headed out with the best pyromancers who blasted the thick mists which covered the waters away with fire and fought off whatever large sea creatures were encountered. This was in the year 93 AN.

Hundreds of miles out, several islands were found which were inhabited by primitive shifters. The largest of which seemed to have several magical properties associated with it. This island had a smaller island floating two miles above it. This was named Aelar Island after the half-elf general leading the fleet. However, the shifters call it Yurg'aren – Yurg being the mystical beast God who supposedly lives on the floating island, aren being the native word for island.

The Aneth were quick to settle in the land and begin colonization, much to the dissatisfaction of some of the native tribes. Expeditions to try and reach the island above the main island have led to nothing but death. No team has made it back. Expeditions are also being planned to sail further west and discover what could lie beyond the sea.

The year is now 166 AN. Time passes and life continues to whatever adventures lay ahead…

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**Character Histories**

**Avonax **(Blake) (_Aa-von-x)_

Race: Elf

Class: Ranger

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 135

Age: 69

Deity: Sehanine

Alignment: Good

Gender: Male

My name is Avonax, son of Thadin. I was birthed aside the Gold River in the lower swamp region. I am wood elf but people refer to me as "wild elf" because I have no true home. I have spent the last 25 years living off the land or as back home would call it – "Letting the wind guide my way." Which I believe is just some old elf bullshit.

However, I did not choose this destiny. It twas forced upon me. I am in search of the murderer of my mother and father. Despite the foolish old elf ways I must avenge their deaths. All I know is that the mutt whom which is responsible is shifter born. Which is why I'm on this god awful boat heading to this beast ridden place.

Thadin: One of the 9 royal guards to King Marinio Aneth.

Shifter: Scar across his left shoulder, running down his arm. (sword wound)

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**Fellwinn** (Brandon) _(Fell-win)_

Race: Deva

Class: Invoker

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 154

Age: -

Deity: Ioun

Alignment: Unaligned

Gender: Female

Of the ancient race Deva, Fellwinn has lived many, many lifetimes. She has used much of her time in a hidden library studying the many ways of life and the world in general. Armed with her knowledge and the wrath of her god Ioun, she has decided to embark in this body onto a future of adventure to try to change things with the world.

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**Maars** (Devin) _(Ma-ars)_

Race: Deva

Class: Shaman

Height: 6'3"

Weight: 152

Age: 207

Deity: Ioun

Alignment: Unaligned

Gender: Male

Maars has fairly recently been born into his new body. He is a follower of Ioun and commonly calls out his spirit companion, a female panther named Phobos, to help him out in battle. He is a loyal friend and companion.

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**Oahu **(Jensen) _(Oh-uh-hu)_

Race: Shifter

Class: Fighter

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 158

Age: 28

Deity: None

Alignment: Unaligned

Gender: Male

I was born in a village south of the Drake Forest and northwest of the River Drake and Du'ran River meet. At the age 18, as it is common with most shifters, I took my right of passage journey into the wild. Months later I returned a man and decided I liked it better in the outside world than in my village.

So I left and journeyed north along the River Drake and into the Drake Forest. There I lived for many years until the age of 23. At that point I traveled West where I met the shifter warden Sevar. That was five years ago and we still travel together to this day looking for exploration upon this new, mysterious island.

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**Sevar ** (Kendrick) _(Seh-var)_

Race: Shifter

Class: Warden

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 152

Age: 37

Deity: Avandra

Alignment: Unaligned

Gender: Male

In between The Swamps and The Five Fingers, there were tribal colonies of shifters who inhabited the area. On one day a great dragon flew over the colonies and burned down everything. I was the only shifter to survive. I was only an infant and I rose from the ashes not knowing of what happened to my family and my people.

An earth elemental by the name of Enge wandered by the destruction and luckily found me. He took me in and raised me as his own. Taught me how to fight and use the earth as a source of energy and power. These were the ways of the warden. I soon realized I had to go out and see the world on my own. So I left Enge and took what he had showed me and traveled.

In later years I met another shifter by the name of Oahu. We have been traveling for some years now and we decided to venture forth to this new island where there are rumors of shifters being stripped of their traditions.

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**Pictures**

-Map of Raleo (166 AN)

-Map of Aelar's Island

-Avonax

-Fellwinn

-Maars

-Oahu

-Sevar

NOTE: TO ACCESS PICTURES GO TO (www)(photobucket)com/user/Link4000z/profile/ AND GO TO ALBUMS. CLICK 'CORRUPTED EQUILIBRIUM' AND CHOOSE THE CORRECT CHAPTER.


	2. The Beginnings of Another Adventure

**The Beginnings of Another Adventure**

Act I - Adventurers

Date Played: 9/25/12

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The boat swayed softly with each move of the ocean water. It was a common feeling by now, one that five adventurers knew as they stood together waiting to land on their island destination. One that they had traveled over a month for: the fabled Aelar Island.

Having been aboard this ship for this long, the group realized that they had always seen the other members on board, but, being absorbed in their own studies they hardly had time to get to know one another. Now as the shout was given that they would be docking at any moment and being in a tiny room with the side door waiting to be lowered to the outside, they realized that perhaps they should try to learn a bit about each other.

The group consisted of a most strange traveling party, quite an odd sight to see in those days. First there were two shifters, creatures that were half man and half beast. There names were Sevar and Oahu. Together they were a powerhouse; strong and full of energy.

Sevar, having been trained by an Earth Elemental, quickly learned the ways of primal power. Studying many years with his master Enge, he quickly became attuned to nature around him and the energies stored within all living things. He considered himself a lover, not a fighter. Fighting was Oahu's job.

Oahu, who traveled for nearly all of his adult life, had been in many fights. Though younger than Sevar, Oahu was far more physically fit. His furry body rippled with muscles that he used to bash skulls if a moment called for it. Instead of beads and light armor that Sevar wore, Oahu wore only the top gear and always had his trusty hammer attached to his belt.

Oahu was a no-nonsense shifter. While his friend studied the Earth and its powers, Oahu simply trained up the powers from his own body. He didn't need to draw on energy from the land to fight. He was a bulldozer within himself.

The two were alike in many ways and yet they were the closest of friends. They had begun to travel together many years ago and the two suited each other nicely. They certainly turned heads wherever they went and not many dared to cross them.

Then there were the devas, divine creatures of mystical power. Once servants of the gods, they now lived with the mortals below in order to serve there gods in more physical means. Though they inhabited mortal bodies, all devas are simply spirits. Once they die, they are reborn again into a new body. In their current form, as they could be reborn as male or female once they died, one was female and the other male. While alike in their rarity, the two couldn't be more different in regard to their minds.

The first deva was Fellwinn. She had used her immortality as a deva to study for many lifetimes within a secret library. There she learned a great many things for the sake of her own mind and for her goddess Ioun who reveled in all things pertaining to knowledge. Now, with her mind filled with hidden secrets and life lessons that she had spent years learning about, she was prepared to head out into the world and make a difference. The deva race was not a large one as there were only a set number of them because they were always reborn. So it was odd to see another deva aboard the ship. His name was Maars.

Though over 200 years old, this is still considered young in the eyes of many deva. A deva often stays in his or her current body for many centuries before they die; unless of course they are reckless. Thus, in deva standards, Maars had just recently been reborn into the earth from his last life and remembered little of his previous endeavors. Though he recalled faint things about his past, it was nothing he was willing to share right now with Fellwinn or the others. He was still coming to terms on who he was and how he was going to make a difference in the world.

And, of course, there was one elf. Young and nimble with a bow, he was named Avonax. Light on his feet and with a knack for doing unlawful-streetwise things for the common good, Avonax was tough to take down if you couldn't get close to them. However, as the group conversed between themselves, they all began to realize that he had a small bias towards shifters, because one of them killed his parents. That was one of his reasons for coming to the island, because he thought that maybe it would give him a lead on where the shifter he was hunting is.

This scares Sevar a little bit who jokes that he and Oahu don't remember killing anyone. The two friends laugh but Avonax simply gives them a blank, stare which clearly shows that he meant business.

The boat continues to rock as the group heads to shore. Curious about what they may find once hitting shore and always looking to learn a bit more, Fellwinn walks over to a guard in the corner and begins to question him about the island. Respecting a female deva as his mama raised him, he relays quick concise answers to her about Aelar Island and where they were landing. He also speaks about the upper island floating in the sky above Aelar's Island. It is quite mysterious and obviously held up by some form of intense magic. It is said that the god of the primitive shifter's on the island lived up there.

As she does this the group notices a loud gnome man arguing with a half-elf man by the doors to the boat. However, as the rest of the group takes in their surroundings, they find even stranger people on board. Standing apart from them was another elf man and a human man staring at them though the two did not seem to know each other. There was also yet another deva and a goliath talking silently at a wooden table pushed off into a corner.

Sevar goes over to talk to the elf man and asks politely why he is staring. The man explains that it is just strange to see such odd races in one group on a tiny boat. Looking back at the other, Sevar does agree that it is pretty strange.

"How did you come to find such a traveling party?" The man asks.

Oahu steps in for his friend and explains, "Actually we just met them, I don't know what we're doing here."

"Oh…" the man says and stays quiet, obviously confused by Oahu's answer.

Sevar turns and gives his friend a look. He knows that Oahu doesn't want to be here, but Sevar doesn't say anything. He's used to his younger friends narrow-minded, one-track mind. They had known each other too long anyways for Sevar to make a stink about it. Oahu preferred his time alone, but Sevar had been curious to talk to the two devas and the elf even if his friend didn't want to.

Avonax heads over to the human man who he now sees is holding a box and smiling widely at the elf. "Can I interest you in any food at all before you head off to this primitive place!? Who knows what you might be eating, this is your last chance at civilization."

The thought of some food makes Avonax's stomach cringe a bit. Who knows what kind of food was on the island.

"How much?" The elf asks the man.

"Only twenty silver pieces!"

Fellwinn overhears this and believes the man may be lying; the food could be overpriced. Avonax looks carefully into the man's eyes, trying to discern any lie that he may be hiding. The man twitches under his glare. Avonax has seen nervous reactions before and he knows the man is lying.

"These goods are overpriced!" He says to the man, almost positive that he's being untruthful. The man flinches again, and is clearly scared of this elf. One of the three guards in the room looks over to the commotion in curiosity.

"L-look, I'll drop the prices…" He says quickly, but Avonax wants none of it. He's had it with the man, why would he buy anything from him? Waving the man away, Avonax turns and heads back towards where the rest of the group is idly chatting.

As the group talks the deva man and goliath who were at the table come over to the party.

"Hello," he says and bows to them all. The party bows in return. The deva is wearing a white robe and golden headband as most deva do to show their reverence to the gods. He is of average build, but looks as if he can hold his own in a situation. "My name is Zachar. I couldn't help but notice how strange a group this is to be in one place together. It is not often that I see other deva."

"Yes, it is quite strange," Fellwinn replies. She had thought the same thing when she had seen Maars earlier.

"Excuse me for asking, but, are you planning to head to the Aelar Museum of Magic upon landing at Aelar's Landing?"

Fellwinn looks a bit taken aback, almost offended to not know that such a place existed. "I wasn't aware of any museum of magic in the area. Could you perhaps explain a little better?"

Zachar smiles and explains that he didn't mean to offend. "No, no; I'm sorry, I just assumed that is why other devas would be here. I hear the museum can be pretty prestigious." Behind him the goliath stares down at the group and eyes them silently over Zachar's shoulder.

There is a sudden jolt and a loud yell aboard the deck which sounds its way into the hold.

The ship has landed.

Light cracks through the opening in the door to the outside. The drawbridge falls down and the people begin to pile out. Zachar gives them all a polite nod and says that he hopes to see them again. Fellwinn gives a nod back as Zachar begins to head outside, his goliath friend close behind. The party follows.

The first breath of air hits them from outside and a salty sea breeze blows into their faces. As their eyes adjust to the bright sun beating down overhead they can see that the rest of the people who were in the boat with were already gone about their business. The dock was empty except for a few people on the boat above and one human man standing on the yellow cobble stoned dock. To their left stretched the ocean, an endless strip of blue that went on for miles and miles.

Avonax walks up to the human man a little ways up the dock who he sees is also holding a box. The man has maps of the landing and offers to sell them to Avonax. discerning that this man is not a liar like the other, he buys both and opens up the map for the group.

At once, everyone has different things they want to do. Fellwinn and Maars want to check out the museum while Sevar and Avonax want to just get to a tavern and relax. Oahu is dead set on getting to the mission because he wants to learn about the primitive shifters that inhabit the island.

It is chaos. They begin to argue with each other, trying to explain why their idea is better but eventually settle on the tavern as their target.

"Why are we even with these guys, let's just go off," Oahu tries to whisper to Sevar. Clearly they had just met these other men. They had been doing fine on their own before this, why did they have to follow this group now; they had no ties to them!

"Shut up, Oahu! Let's just roll with it; we're just chilling."

"I don't want to chill, Sevar! I want to go to the mission, we should just go off."

They argue for awhile, but the party tries to ignore it.

As they walk down the dock Avonax sees a rat ahead. He doesn't hesitate. Dropping to one knee he pulls out his bow and notches an arrow. Before anything happens he lets it rip. The arrow soars through the air, but misses the rat and lands into the ocean. It was close enough that the rat felt some air whip past it so it begins to run away back up the docks.

"Let's get it!" Avonax yells.

The group gives chase and find it not far away trying to attack a burly human man. He's not taking any of it though and is fighting back with full force. Fellwinn puts a stop to it with her divine power. She raises her staff into the air and forms a crystalline spear which flies towards the rat. Just before impact, it breaks into several shards which rip into the rats skin. With a small squeak it falls to the ground in a bloody mess. The man gives a sigh of relief and looks up at the party as they approach him. He is a little taken aback by the odd group that has saved him though.

"You'all must be newcomers. Just came on that boat there," he mumbles as he points down to the massive ship. The man is large and wears a plain jacket over his strong, hairy arms. A large brown beard falls down to right above his chest and he stinks of sweat as if he's been working a bit. However, other than this he appears clean.

"Could you perhaps tell us a bit about the city?" Fellwinn questions.

The man looks puzzled and doesn't give out much information. "I'm not an info person!" Instead the guy grumbles about the rats in the city. "They're damn everywhere. Can't get rid of these fuckin' rats." He continues to grumble a bit and then looks at Fellwinn and her staff, as if remembering what she just did to the poor rat moments earlier. He then takes a look at Avonax's bow, Sevar's axes, Oahu's hammer, and Maars' own staff. He leans in close to them with a glimmer in his eye. "I tell ya what, if you go get me some rat carcasses, I'll make it worth your while."

The group sees it as a good idea. Maybe they could get some good stuff off of this man. With this minor quest in mind they head off. Heading down the dock towards the center of the city they pass by old warehouses and a few people milling about their day. It's a pretty diverse town; elfs, humans, half-elfs, halflings, gnomes, and shifters are all running around. They are clearly working in the warehouses on the sides of the docks and also running to and from the ship taking out new shipments. however, some simply walk around enjoying the ocean breeze coming form the east.

"We should stop by the General Goods store first," Avonax says. "We may need something."

The group agrees, though still disagreeing about where to go. Heading up the main street from the docks the wood turns to cobblestone and more people begin to appear. The town looks even more diverse now as several gnomes and half-elfs walk past. Many people walk across the town square, going about their business. They all pass by the fountain in the center of the plaza which spews out water from the mouths of several stone, beautiful, elven woman. Behind the fountain to the western side of the plaza and straight ahead of the party is the largest building in the town: the Aelar Museum of Ancient Magic. Looking at the map, the party easily find the General goods store and enter.

The inside of the shop is small, but well lit. Trinkets and items line the sides of the walls and behind the counter. Everything from lanterns, to sleeping bags, to fishing wire and food. A female gnome is there to greet them. "Welcome to General Goods, can I help you?" The group looks at the wares around them and decide to get nothing. They already have several adventurer's kits in their backpacks. They weren't going to come across to ocean to this island unprepared. They head back outside where the mission taunts Oahu from across the plaza.

"I'm just gonna go up there. Screw you guys," Oahu announces as he begins to head for the wide, wooden mission doors. This angers the party though and eventually it is Sevar who leaps over and pulls his shifter friend back.

The group continues through the main square and past the fountain. By the fountain is a small stand where male gnome trying to sell mushrooms.

"Mushroooooommmsss! Get your mushrooooommmmssss right here! Straight from the island!"

This gets the group curious, as they really want some mushrooms. It causes Fellwinn to laugh at the minor creature, because the mushroom call sounds so odd from the little gnome. Sevar is the first, happy as ever to go say hello to the gnome. The gnome smiles back with his pointed teeth and beady eyes. Some of his teeth are missing and his hair is a bit wispy. Clearly he's been through some hard times, but he seems friendly enough.

"What'd ya got friend?" Sevar asks.

The gnome instantly begins to break down the items on his little stand, explaining what the native island mushrooms look like. He has only about two mushrooms, but they both are different colors. There is also a watermelon type fruit though it is colored blue. Fellwinn is suspicious about mushrooms, thinking they could be poisonous, especially the white one spotted with purple dots.

Maars ends up buying a haytun fruit, the large watermelon looking thing, whatever that is, and begins to head back towards the tavern, which is opposite the general goods store. The building is quite large. It is made of wood with a stone foundation and is two stories tall. A couple of people are standing outside drinking and talking to one another, mostly humans, half-elfs, and halflings. They laugh as they tell jokes to one another, recalling the good old days from their youth. Behind them several children run about near the residential area while their mothers watch them play.

The party moves their way past the men with small nods of acknowledgement as they enter the tavern. Inside they find that the bar is very full. Out of the six tables, only one of them is free and a cat lounges atop it lazily. A beautiful, elf bard sings in the corner, much to the enjoyment of the men. She dances around as she skillfully plays a flute while the men stomp their feet to the beat and yell whoops of cheer at her. Some guards off duty are also sitting around, clearly coming in for a pint of ale.

Some of the people who were on the boat are here too. The elf man who Sevar talked to now appears very drunk and trying to impress a girl, along with the man who tried to sell them overpriced food who is simply eating at another table. At the actual bar, two drunk dwarven men talk loudly about days past and a pretty half-elf female looks slyly at the party as they enter. Overall, it is quite a commotion.

Fellwinn walks off to talk to the innkeeper while Sevar walks over to the elf man who he talked to on the boat. "Ah, my friend!" He exclaims as Sevar approaches. His words are slightly slurred and his eyes droop with drunkenness, but his smile is wider than ever.

"What're you up to?" Sevar replies back.

The elf man looks quite happy as he stares at the elf woman across from him who is sitting next to another man. The elf woman and other man looked bored and annoyed out of their minds however.

"I was just telling this fine, fine woman here," he waves his hand forward to the woman, who rolls her eyes, and then continues, "About the ghost that's supposed to haunt this tavern! It's really scary, but I think I can take a damn ghost."

Sevar is surprised by this news and continues to question the man about the said ghost.

"Well, I don't know too much about it. The innkeeper would. I just guess that they hear strange noises from the basement and things like that. Stuff goes missing."

"That's very interesting," Sevar tells the man, who smiles at him for enjoying the story. "Thank you for sharing that knowledge."

Meanwhile, Maars walks over to the woman who was staring at them from the bar. She looks a little bit tipsy. When he approaches her, she instantly laughs.

"What!?" Maars is taken aback.

This makes her laugh some more. She rocks back on her barstool and grabs the counter, before straightening herself again and continuing to talk. "It's just not everyday you see a deva come over to try and talk to me. You're attracting attention, you know?"

Maars peers around the room. All of the people in the tavern are still going about their business, but some stare at the party, especially he and Fellwinn, with confusion and mistrust.

"Plus," the woman continues, placing a hand on his purple-skinned arm, "I didn't think you'd want this for the night."

Maars is confused by the statement. "What do you mean 'this'?"

"You know. Sex."

If his eyes weren't already wide from surprise, they shot up quickly. "Oh- no, no. That's not what I want." He laughs at the situation, beginning to fully understand where this was going. However, the woman doesn't seem amused at all.

"Well. Then why are you wasting my time?" She says angrily. Maars gives one more chuckle and begins to head back to the others, his sandals flapping against the ground. She watches as he walks away from her. "Go get your elf friend, maybe he'll be a little more interested!"

At the bar, Fellwinn talks to the barkeep/innkeeper. He is a middle-aged man with a beer belly. His white shirt is stained from the food he's been cooking and his apron is also coated in flour. Sweat drips slowly down his face. It is clear he's been moving around a lot, likely trying to feed all the customers he's having. However, he still appears to look professional even if his appearance is a bit dirty.

Beneath his curly brown hair he gives Fellwinn a small nod and asks her if she'd like a room for the night. She says no, but instead asks about some of the local rumors. Unsure of wanting to trust her because she is a deva, the man slyly gives a half-truth about the town doing alright.

"I mean, you get those occasional crimes once in awhile, but I think we're doing ok."

Fellwinn nods and thanks him just as Sevar bounds over with the rest of the party. "Ask him about the haunting Fellwinn!" Sevar exclaims excitedly. The deva stops and looks at her shifter companion in curiosity. Sevar quickly fills her in on what the elf man had told him moments earlier. With a shrug and nothing better to do, Fellwinn turns back to the innkeeper.

"I've heard rumor that you are hearing things in your basement. That there may be a ghost down there?"

The innkeeper sighs. More sweat begins to drip down his face as he stares at the four other men who have now approached; not to mention another deva. He is a little overwhelmed by the presence of so many strange people before him, but he does realize that perhaps they can help him out. With a sigh and a slight look of annoyance, he leans on the bar top and looks up into Fellwinn's glowing eyes.

"Well, yes. We hear strange things at night coming from the trapdoor to the basement, and I have heard things coming from the back corner of the basement when I'm down there. I don't like to go that far in, it scares me. We get some rats every once in awhile, but who doesn't. Right?"

The group stares at him, as if waiting for more information. Unsure of what to do, the innkeeper straightens himself and continues.

"I mean, if you guys wanted to check it out and clear anything out down there, if you want to, I'll still reward you."

This gets the group all excited. Sevar smiles and turns towards the others around him, pleased that he found something for them all to agree on. Even Oahu shrugs and keeps his mouth shut. Everyone really likes the idea; just a little quest before they did too much. All in a days work for adventurers.

So down they go, through the trapdoor behind the bar and into the cellar. Here it is still lit through the floorboards above, but everything is dry and stale in the air. A small smell of something else lingered though, but not even the shifters could make it out.

"Let's be cautious," Avonax warns as his feet touch the cold stone ground of the basement. He looks up above him to see the trapdoor about twenty feet up. It is simply a square of light now from which the music from the bard softly filters through.

Fellwinn nods in agreement at Avonax's statement and the party inches forward into a hallway they cannot see all the way down. The basement seems to be made up of two rooms and an 'L' shaped hallway.

Everything is quiet aside from the music and the creaking of the floorboards from above until suddenly everyone begins to hear something rustling in the darkness ahead! Sevar and Oahu lead the way, their strength and wild ferocity a shield for the other members of the party.

As Sevar inches his way forward, his axes held in front of him for protection. He dares not say a word or even breath too loudly. If there was a ghost in here, he didn't want to give away their position.

Down the hallway he goes with Oahu off to his left. He turns to give his shifter friend a nod to see how he's doing when there is a sudden _crack!_ Before anything can be done, Sevar begins to fall straight into the floor! He lands about ten feet down with a thump that bruises his behind.

"Ow…" he moans to himself as he claws his way back out. It was simple trap door. It had given way with his weight. As he gets back to land the others look at him as if wanting to help, but Sevar raises one claw up indicating that he's fine. He just hoped whatever was down here with them hadn't heard him!

Sevar stands back up again as Oahu comes over to him. He gives Sevar yet another nod and stealthily looks into the first room off to the side of the hallway. There is no door, simply an opening. Inside there is nothing but a few boxes and barrels with food and supplies inside. Not seeing anything moving, Oahu leans back and continues to inch forward towards the opening leading to the second room.

At this point Fellwinn begins to catch up to them. Her will and determination drive her on. She is unafraid. Clearly nothing can startle or surprise her that she hadn't read about in the secret library. However, as she turns the corner into the next room she sees two rats and her heart jumps just a little. Instantly she sears them with her divine power and weakens them down.

They squeak and hiss loudly as Fellwinn's magic burns them. Both of the rats turn from the crate they had been gnawing into and face Fellwinn from across the room. Seeing that surprise was no longer an option, Oahu and Sevar rush over to help. Oahu raises his hammer high and Sevar takes out his axes. Avonax moves forward with his bow raised and Maars also gets ready for battle.

Suddenly, things go from bad to worse. Moving out from behind the second room where the hallway turns off to the right, a goblin warrior appears, a spear in hand. It is a tiny creature, its scaly green skin shimmering in the soft light from the floorboards above. The party all turn at once as this new creature scampers into view. However, it is all so quick. Aiming at Fellwinn he raises his spear and hurls it.

The spear flies through the air drives through Fellwinn's left shoulder. It slices straight through her skin and imbeds itself into her flesh. However, the strong, independent woman barely notices. With nothing more than a grimace of slight pain she pulls it out and continues the assault on the rats.

The fight was just beginning.

* * *

**Pictures**

-Map of Aelar's Landing

NOTE: TO ACCESS PICTURES GO TO (www)(photobucket)com/user/Link4000z/profile/ AND GO TO ALBUMS. CLICK 'CORRUPTED EQUILIBRIUM' AND CHOOSE THE CORRECT CHAPTER.

* * *

**Music**:

Aelar's Landing:

Title – Windfall Island

Artist – Koji Kondo

Album – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Original Sound Tracks

* * *

Tavern:

Title – Title

Artist – Koji Kondo

Album – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Original Sound Tracks

* * *

Tavern Basement:

Title – Title

Artist – Koji Kondo

Album – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Original Sound Tracks

NOTE: PLAYED SOFTER THAN WHEN IN THE TAVERN.


	3. Ghosts'n Goblins

**Ghosts'n Goblins**

Act I - Adventurers

Date Played: 10/9/12

* * *

The emergence of the goblin warrior does throw a loop into things, but it does not distract the party from their ultimate goal of clearing out the basement and finding if there truly is a ghost hidden around. As they were all hardened adventurer's, this was the time for them to combine their strengths and take down their foes.

Raising her staff into the air with her good arm, Fellwinn fires an orb of light at one of the rats. The orb glows with a burning intensity as it flies towards the rat with the speed of a bullet. It hits the rat who flies backwards with a squeak and hits the crate behind it. She then quickly turn to her left and fires a crystal spear at the goblin. The spear breaks into tiny shards and drives itself into the goblin's scaly skin. It growls in anger and quickly runs back into the adjacent hallway behind the cover of the second room.

Inside the second room the two rats snivel in and squeak in agitation. The one who was not hit by Fellwinn's attack begins to move forward while the other seems to be regaining its composure. Sevar runs forward into the opening of the room and turns to face his opponents, but the rats are too quick! Before he can even lift one of his axes the rat's are already scampering over to him! The first rat aims for his ankle and snaps violently, nipping Sevar. Pain envelopes Sevar's leg and he growls with animalistic fury in the darkness. Fighting through the pain, Sevar slashes down and cuts the rat who also squeaks in pain.

From across the hallway, Maars can hear Sevar's grunts of pain. Maars knows that he never wanted to be a fighter, but he sees that the opportunity was now presenting itself. He had to take some sort of action. However, he knew that as a Shaman there were other things he could accomplish aside from just killing rats.

Seeing Sevar's wound, Maars suddenly has an idea. Closing his eyes, the deva focuses on the calm within himself and begins to call forth the spirits of the wild. Within moments a light mist begins to form a few feet away from himself. It flows over his body and seems to have form as it even makes Maars hair begin to stand on end. The devas ponytail lifts as if a hand is placed beneath it. Avonax looks over at it in amazement, as does Oahu who is quickly running over to Sevar.

The mist is unnatural and moves as if it has a mind of its own. A figure begins to emerge that is transparent, yet still has form. Maars' glowing yellow eyes snap open just as a panther bursts from the haze with a roar! The others in the room are shocked. They've never seen anything like this before, but they've certainly heard the stories. This was a spirit animal, bonded to Maars and taken from the spirit world! Maars smiles as he sees his familiar 'pet' leaping into the fray.

Her name is Phobos.

Phobos sweeps through the group with ease. Her body forms to mist as she glides quickly past Oahu and Avonax and reforms next to Sevar and Fellwinn. Channeling his energy through Phobos, Maars heals both of them. The gash in Fellwinn's shoulder suddenly stop oozing blood and Sevar's foot instantly closes itself up as if it were never there!

Fellwinn gives a warm smile down at the panther and quickly moves towards the hidden corner where the hallway turns off to the right. Avonax nimbly catches up to her and takes the rear. He gives Fellwinn a reassuring nod as she inches her way forward to look behind the corner. They are both eager to see what lies in the adjacent corridor.

A cool draft flows through the hallway and hits both of them in the face. It is refreshing, but when the two begin to breath in through their noses they can taste a hint of rot that the wind carries with it.

Forcing herself to breath through her nose, Fellwinn peers around the corner. Staring back at her from the back of the hallway is the goblin warrior she had seen earlier. However, with him is another goblin and a dire rat! On the ground near them are what looks like the corpse of a horse and some other rotten meat that the two have been feasting on. The two goblins hiss in anger at Fellwinn's intrusion and begin to lift their spears.

The deva would have gagged if she weren't in such a serious situation. Not wanting to take another spear to the shoulder, Fellwinn raises her staff and begins to strike the ground with it. With each successive strike there is a sound of thunder and the goblins rock side to side as if hit by several mighty blows. The thunder rips loudly through the air and the goblins screech in anger as they move, waving their hands about as if trying to fend off blows that seem to come from nowhere. The rat next to them waddles across the hallway, smashing into barrels and the horse carcass as it takes the painful beating.

Sliding in behind Fellwinn, Avonax quickly takes an arrow from his quiver and takes aim. There is a _thwip!_ sound as the arrow flies through the air and spears itself through the rat. The rat falls to the ground without another sound. However, before the rat can even hit the ground Avonax is already taking out more arrows. He snipes both of the goblins, shooting arrows between their poorly constructed armor all the while as Fellwinn continues to smash her quarterstaff into the ground.

Though that side of the basement was being taken care of, the two shifter friends had their own battle raging. Back on there side of the basement they faced off againt the two rats. Maars assists in the healing while Sevar and Oahu slash away at the two rats.

Moving nimbly forward, Oahu is first to confront one of the rats. With a yell he raises his hammer into the air and takes aim at the rat who had bitten Sevar earlier. Focusing on its location and pinpointing exactly where his hammer is to land wasn't easy as the rat was still moving towards him. However, Oahu was precise. He smashes down with his weapon. There is a dull smushing sound as the rat nearly pops beneath Oahu's blow. The sight is disgusting, but Oahu simply lifts his hammer and keeps moving. He has seen far worse in his life.

Meanwhile, Sevar leaps back from the final rat who had been looking to take a quick bite out of his foot like its brethren had before. Sevar slides across the floor a few feet away and looks up with a snarl at the rat. Its beady eyes blink in the darkness and its whiskers twitch as it gets ready for another attack. The warden didn't intend for that attack to happen.

Raising one of his axes into the air, he quickly takes aim and lets it fly. The axe slips from his fingers and soars through the air, spinning in a whirl towards the rat. However, the rat is too fast and Sevar's aim isn't exactly spot on. The axe soars right past the rat who doesn't stop in his mini charge towards Sevar!

"Damn it!" Sevar curses as his axe's hits the floor behind his target. It clatters to the ground with a clank and skids across the floor before stopping against the hard stone wall.

He quickly fumbles on his belt for this other axe, but the rat is too close! There is a squeak as it prepares to bite! Suddenly the squeak turns to a squeal as a mist begins to form and Phobos appears from thin air! The panther growls in anger and slashes down at the rat. Though its claws appear to be made of mist, the swipe leaves a large bloody gash on the rat and the creature falls to the ground from the force of the blow.

Sevar gives a sigh of relief as Phobos engages the rat. He hadn't been looking forward to another chunk of his leg being taken off. Turning, he looks over at Maars who stands in the doorway of the room and gives him a quick nod of thanks.

Oahu quickly jumps in with Phobos, his hammer raised and a grim, determined look on his face. His testosterone flowing, Oahu can't help himself but snarl as he smashes down on this rat much as he had done with the other. However, his aim is a bit off and the head of the hammer only lands on the rats tail. The rat squeaks in agony once more before Sevar finally silences it by slashing down with his second axe.

With its last breath of air, the rat squeaks a small sound of release before it joins the others in death. As if on cue, Avonax and Fellwinn appear in the doorway. They look prepared for more of a fight, but when they see the room clear their stance settles a bit and the two adventurers settle down.

The fight was finally over.

The group says nothing as they put away their weapons once more. Oahu puts his hammer back on his belt and Phobos fades away after a quick "pat" on the head by Maars. The fight hadn't been a tough one, but as the party looked around at each other it finally have them a better sense of how tough they were as a team. it was clear now that they were a force to be reckoned with.

As Sevar clips his axe back to his belt his vision blurs for a moment. A sudden wave of fatigue washes over his body and the shifter nearly drops his axe to the floor. He stumbles for a moment, nearly having to reach out a hand to stop him from falling. He lets out a low moan of pain and grabs the wall for support.

Seeing his friend in pain, Oahu walks over as something was obviously wrong. Fellwinn notices too and also begins to move down. The look on her face suggests she knows what ails him, but Oahu is quick to make heads and tails of it as he looks down at the bloody bodies of the rats on the floor and then back at Sevar's foot.

"You've got draids!" Oahu taunts him as he laughs to himself. Clearly, he didn't think it was a big issue.

Sevar stands and tries to shrug it off as Avonax and Maars begin to laugh. Sevar didn't feel too tired any more, but it was clear he had contracted something when the first rat had bitten him. Though his wound had been closed thanks to Maars magic, the Filth Fever disease was flowing in his blood.

Back on the mainland, draids was a slang term for Filth Fever. It acted as a bit of an insult to those the term was aimed at because anyone with Filth Fever was supposed to be extremely dirty – to the point where some who had contracted it were said to have had butt sex with rats.

Though a bit on the immature side, the group is very amused by this and try to make light of the situation. However the consequences of such a disease could be quite severe for Sevar…

* * *

**Music:**

Tavern Basement (Battle)

Title – -

Artist – Jeremy Soule

Album – The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Soundtrack; The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion; The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Original Game Soundtrack

NOTE: ANY BATTLE THEME FROM ANY OF THESE ALBUMS WAS PLAYED DURING THIS BATTLE.


	4. The Tavern and the Mission

**The Tavern and the Mission**

Act I - Adventurers

Date Played: 10/23/12

* * *

Though the effects of the Filth Fever still weighed on him, Sevar was not about to let a little disease get him down. Taking a deep breath to clear his head, Sevar pushes himself from his leaning position on the wall and walks over to his axe on the other side of the room. He passes by the dead carcasses of the rats, their blood now slowly forming small, ruby red rivers within the cracks of the stone. He tries to ignore the carnage as he bends down to pick up his weapon.

Outside the room Fellwinn returns to the small hallway in the back of the basement. They still had a mission to accomplish. They had to find out if there really was a ghost back here; that was their main reason for entering the basement after all.

Now that her adrenaline had worn off, the smell of rot from the goblin den hits her nostrils once more and the rotting horse carcass nearly makes her gag. Nonetheless, she moves her way towards the back of the den while planning her steps carefully as she doesn't want to step on the recent bodies of the goblins.

Their arrow stuffed bodies stare up at her with dead eyes and their faces are contorted into snarls of rage. Jagged, pointy teeth point towards her with their contorted faces and saliva drips from their mouths. It is quite disgusting and their smell doesn't add to the aroma.

Almost at the back of the hallway now, Fellwinn looks up towards the corner of the ceiling where the wall meets the main floor. There is a small hole there where a bit of light lazily wafts in. It is so tiny it was not noticeable before, but from a closer angle you can see that the hole leads out behind the tavern somewhere.

The light suddenly shifts as a gust of air flows outside and through the hole giving a welcome, refreshing breeze that hits Fellwinn's face. However, it is not the fresh air she is interested in but instead that "OOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOooooOOOOOOooo" sound that the wind makes as it is forced through the tiny hole. She smiles in amusement.

"That's strange," Fellwinn comments sarcastically as the rest group comes forward around the bend in the hallway.

"Where's that ghost?" Sevar asks, stepping up between Fellwinn and Avonax. He too also carefully picks his way past the bodies, not wanting to step on any of the gore around him.

"I think you're looking at it," she replies back.

Sevar looks up at the hole as the wind dies down only to have it pick up with the same haunting sound it played before. A clear look of disappointment comes upon his face.

"Oh, well that sucks."

"Well we took out some goblins though, that was cool."

"We need to get these rat carcasses now," Sevar tells them as he looks down at one of the bodies at his feet. The rest of the party stare at him strangely. Sevar looks back, a look of innocence on his face. "What, we could use the money!"

He was of course referring to the man on the docks they had met who said that they could make some quick cash if they were to help with the rat infestation problem. Though it sounded like a good idea at the time, as the group looked down at the blood soaked rat body, they suddenly rethought that plan.

"And smell like dead rat, no thanks," Fellwinn responds to him with a sneer of disgust. Damn woman!

Oahu however looks very willing to help. He bends down and grabs the rat by the tail before hoisting it into the air. "Whatever, more money so who cares?"

"So," Avonax begins as he takes a step back from Oahu along with Fellwinn who does her best to dodge around the rat that Oahu is swinging around. "We're gonna have the two 'civilized' shifters walking around and people will think you're natives."

The group laughs, but it doesn't stop Oahu and Sevar from moving forward and getting four rat carcasses, which they split between themselves. Avonax, Fellwinn, and Maars watch on in disgust though Maars can't help but chuckle a bit about how disgusting it is.

After the room is clear they head up to the tavern through the ladder and trapdoor.

Light bathes them as the trapdoor opens. Things were as they were before. Still the bard singing to the crowd of men around her, still the people milling about while eating and drinking. The only person who even looks their way as they climb out is the innkeeper. He heads over to them excitedly and asks, "So, how'd it go? Did you find that ghost?"

Fellwinn shakes her head. "No, but we did find you have a problem with your carpenter."

"Eh?" The man replies. Clearly, the sarcasm wasn't rubbing off on him.

"You seem to have a large hole in your roof which leads out into a back ally. Some goblins got in there and made a nest. It was probably the goblins you heard making the noise."

"Oh, I see." The innkeeper scratches the back of his head nervously. He probably couldn't tell what was worse, a ghost in the basement or goblins who had infested his storage area.

Sevar steps in with Oahu and whispers into Fellwinn's ear, "Ask him about a reward."

"Yeah," Avonax agrees, giving the deva a small, encouraging pat on her back.

"Excuse me sir, we were of course happy to help, but do we perhaps get some reward?"

The man looks a bit taken aback. He blinks a couple of times and then quickly nods that of course he was going to give them a reward. He begins to think for a moment what kind of reward would be satisfactory, but this simply angers the party.

"Wait, so you promised you'd reward us to do something and you had no reward in mind?" Fellwinn asks angrily.

All the others begin to argue and agree with Fellwinn each taking a turn at berating the innkeeper. Some of the nearby patrons look over at the commotion and the innkeeper lowers himself a bit by leaning on the bar. He looks up at the group in annoyance. Any hesitation he had had before with this odd group of strangers was gone. He was not going to let these people walk in and give him a hard time in his establishment.

Bothered, he explains, "Well, of course I'm going to give you something, but you just expect me to know what to give? Just hang on a second, you're all so impatient."

"Well, we did just complete a service for you," Fellwinn responds in irritation. Avonax nods firmly and the innkeeper rolls his eyes. He begins to dig into the pockets of his brown pants and yank out what he can. A couple of coins and some lint come out crumpled within his cubby hands and this time it's the party's turn to roll their eyes. It doesn't look very impressive.

Oahu sighs, "This guy's got nothing."

"How about room and board for the night, sir?" Avonax asks, stepping forward to try and take charge of the situation.

The innkeeper looks over at the elf and grunts. "How do you expect me to run a business if I'm just giving out rooms?"

Digging his hand back into his breeches he pulls five yellow tickets from his left pocket. He stares at them for a moment as if reading them over and, finally deciding that they were satisfactory, flares them out towards them. "Here, how about some tickets to the magic museum, will that do?"

"We could take the room too," Fellwinn says, trying to push the reward further. If it was one thing she could do to with her womanly intuition, it was push the boundaries of what she could get out of people.

The innkeeper contemplates this for a bit as a red bearded dwarf begins to slam his empty glass in an attempt to get his attention. Not wanting to stay for much longer he decides he has to give them something to get them off his case so he agrees with them getting two rooms – and two rooms only! The party agrees to this and the deal is made. The flustered innkeeper storms off to deal with the dwarf. Pleased with their reward albeit a bit annoyed, the party heads back outside.

"I call a bed," Oahu says as they step into the sunlight once more. Sevar turns to him in shock. "What, it's mine!"

"You two can stay together," Avonax says jokingly as they make their way to the large fountain at the center of the square.

"Yeah, we don't want to be cooped up with the animals," Maars adds in with a smile.

The party continues to walk, passing by the many townsfolk still going about their day. They all begin to argue once more on what to do next, but with the rotten smell now coming from the two shifters, the group decides it would be best to deliver the rat carcass to the man on the docks.

The five of them head back to the east and down towards the docks where the man said they'd meet him. Several ships are moored in the docks with sailors of all different races loading cargo and checking on the hulls. Taking a right they begin to pass by some warehouses and the ship they had just gotten off not too long ago.

As if simply waiting for them, the large, burly man is in the exact same spot as he was before. He looks at them with his arms crossed as they approach. Sevar is closest and moves forward to hand him his share of the rat corpses. The man gives a grunt that sounded somewhat impressed and blows air out from his mouth. He gives a small grin from beneath his curly beard and takes both rats by the tail.

"Ah, good work shifter. Did you kill these with your teeth or your claws?" He says in a very unfunny joke. The man begins to doll out forty silver pieces to Sevar. Oahu quickly steps forward and hands over his two carcasses as the rest of the group watches on. Together they received eighty silver pieces, twenty for each carcass. However, Sevar looks a bit angry.

He plays over the man's comment within his head. _Did I kill them with my teeth or my claws?_ He wasn't some kind of animal, he was a civilized being in this societ and he wasn't going to take this insult lying down. The man's words had really struck a nerve.

He reaches for his axe and places a claw on top of the hilt. This does not go unnoticed by the man who quickly places a hand on his own dagger attached at his hip. The sunny day suddenly turns cold as the atmosphere between the two men turns sour. The two stare at each other grimly, unsure of what to do. Clearly Sevar was angry, but the man seemed like he could hold his own in a fight. His muscles swelled as he took in deep breaths of air, preparing himself for the worst. Everything was happening so fast Avonax, Fellwinn, Oahu, and Maars could do little but watch on.

"Watch the stereotypical things that come from your mouth or you may be in trouble," Sevar warns sternly as he glares straight into the man's brown eyes, nearly hidden under his bushy eyebrows.

The man smiles a toothy, arrogant grin and chuckles at the shifter. The others watch in half confusion and half curiosity, wondering how this will play out. Should they interfere and risk a fight? If one broke out, should they side with Sevar? Though the others seemed nervous, Oahu, Sevar's longtime friend, seemed more annoyed than anything.

"You do not frighten me shifter," the man says his eyes squinting as he smiles into Sevar's face.

Not wanting the situation get out of hand and finally deciding to act, Oahu steps forward between the two rigid men. "Please excuse my foolish friend," he says to the man in an attempt to calm him down. "He doesn't know what he says."

As if water had broken through a dam the human's smile fades and his face turns to anger. "Then get out of here!" He snarls at the two. He waves his hand outward obviously wanting them to get lost. "Go find me more rats, you guys are doing decent work."

Oahu begins to steer Sevar away with a firm furry hand on his shoulder. The party turns and follows them, not sure what to make of that whole situation. Oahu and Sevar walk side by side while not saying a word between them. At one point they lock eyes and Oahu gives him a wan smile. He was used to this type of behavior from Sevar. Always jumping towards a good fight.

Sevar exhales angrily and tries to shake himself off. He just really did not like arrogant, cocky people.

As they turn back onto the main street everyone once again ponders what to do. Avonax stares at the map thoughtfully and passes it around to the others so that they all have a chance to look. Everyone puts in their two cents and Avonax takes the map back. He then leads the thought that they should try the mission. Oahu stoutly refuses.

"Weren't you the one who wanted to go to the mission in the first place to learn more about these primitive shifters?" The elf asks as he turns to Oahu in confusion.

"I'm too tired now, let's just rest at the bar."

Sevar is keen to do this, but the two devas fight the case with Avonax that they should go to the mission.

They call Oahu a coward for being afraid of getting in another random fight with rats and goblins at the mission. "You're not even the one who got a javelin through the shoulder," Fellwinn points out with a laugh as she touches her shoulder where her wound had been before Maars had healed her.

Oahu lets the joke slide pass him, not wanting to get into an argument. All he really wanted to do was get a nice drink and some sleep. After all, they had two rooms and he _had_ called a bed.

The group again passes the General Goods store and the mushroom vendor once more as he yells out his wares for the people milling around outside. It is still a very nice, clear day and the light breeze from the ocean keeps them refreshed. Off to the West the floating island sits idly in the sky, a black dot against the horizon.

Taking a right at the fountain inside of a left where the tavern was across the square, the group ends up in front of the mission. A slate roof over white adobe walls greets them from a very clean, grassy patch in front of the building. A small stone arch sits in the middle of the gravel path leading to the wooden doors of the building and large bushes adorn the outside of the walls. Across from the mission is a stable where a variety of horses are on display and a stableboy sits lazily on a crate as his partner rakes through some of the hay. Overall, the mission and the area around it is welcoming and warm. It seems very homely.

All except for a gnome man grumbling outside and staring at the mission longingly. However, the group ignores him altogether. Whatever his problem is, it isn't there's.

Maars and Fellwinn want to check out the horse stables, but they both decide to enter the mission first. Passing the grumbling gnome man, the two walk forward down the graveled path. They push open the large wooden doors and enter.

Inside it is a bit dusty, but overall very nice. The building is mainly one small room with a door leading further to the back of the mission and one leading to a garden to the east. Four large desks are in place around the room, two of which are occupied. One in the corner has two shifter females talking to each other quietly and the other has one male shifter reading a book.

In the front of the room is yet another larger desk with a chalkboard behind it. Notes scatter the desk and the chalkboard is all covered with notes on simple Common. This made sense as Common was the most recognized language in Raleo. Clearly the shifters were being taught how to speak in a civilized manner. Bookshelves also line the rooms walls and they are all filled with books of all shapes and sizes.

Two other shifters stand near the front desk talking quietly to themselves and a few feet from them a half-elf man and a half-elf female talk quietly. The pretty female has short brown hair and wears a modest dress. The half-elf man was one whom the party had gotten off the boat with. He stares at the woman with a sheepish smile and his stance obviously gives away that he is infatuated with her.

The woman, along with the others in the room, turn to look at the odd group which has entered through the door. The woman is the first and only to give them a warm smile and the shifters around the room begin to whisper excitedly.

"Welcome to the Aelar Mission," she says to them. "Please feel free to look around and enjoy your stay!"

The party nods to her politely. Sevar is first to move forward past the two devas. He takes a quick scan of the room and is mildly surprised to see all the shifters. He wasn't quite sure what he had expected to see at a mission dedicated to teaching native shifters, but it was just something you didn't see everyday. It was hard to come by shifters on the mainland and it wasn't often you saw so many together in one place like this.

Maars walks over to a bookshelf near the door and begins to scan the spines of the many books. Reading was a passion of Maars, though he hadn't read much recently. It was nice to see so many books in one place, especially when there was such a variety of them. Not only that, but judging by the fact that this mission was more of a school, it was likely that they were all non-fiction and informative! A thick leather book catches his eye and he pulls it out. It is History of Raleo: A War of 2000 Years. The inquisitive deva unhooks the leather strap which locks the covers of the book and flips through a couple of pages.

Unlike her male compatriot, Fellwinn heads down to the half-elf woman with Avonax and Oahu. As Oahu walks over, Sevar looks back to get his attention. He thrusts his hips forward and back in a suggestive manner while looking enviously at the woman before giving his friend a little wink. Oahu rolls his eyes and turns towards the woman who is quite obviously watching Sevar. Oahu begins to blush. It was just like Sevar to go from almost getting into a fight with some random man to making inappropriate jokes at the wrong time. However, the woman doesn't pay it much mind. Instead she greets Fellwinn and the two men warmly.

Fellwinn asks, "As this is a mission, what deity do you follow?"

"Ioun," the woman answers with a pretty smile. Her smile radiates kindness. The half-elf man who she had been talking to now stands a few feet away. At the sight of her smile he nearly swoons like a teenage girl meeting a prince on the mainland.

Though strict in her deva demeanor, the answer takes Fellwinn just a bit off guard. She herself was a follower of Ioun, sworn to the study and gathering of knowledge. As was Maars. It was a common deity to follow as many devas were always in search of knowledge to better mankind. She continues to ask about the mission and how long they've been teaching the native shifters.

The woman explains that the Aelar Mission was the first to open as the town was the first establishment built when the half-elf general who found the island originally landed. His name was Aelar and the island was named after him. The town's location was actually where Aelar and his men first set foot on the island during his fateful expedition. They started to teach the shifters modern ways about sixty to fifty years ago so everything is fairly new.

Oahu takes a look at the shifters around and notices that their outfits are a bit different from the mainland shifters. Though they are wearing modern clothing, their arms and necks are covered with many beads and shells from their tribes. It was like nothing Oahu had ever seen before. The bracelets on their arms and their necklaces were very simple and yet they had an elegant, elaborate design to them. Clearly they had taken time to make and Oahu was a little relieved to see that the mission didn't strip them of all their cultural heritage. Or so he thought. It didn't look like it, but the question begin to bubble up in his mind.

"Are the shifter's culture ruined by these missions?" He asks bluntly. The woman takes no offense to it however. "No, no, of course not. We try to simply teach them modern ways without biting into and changing their culture. We only seek to make their lives better and help them grow into a civilized race."

"Can you tell me anything of the island floating above this one?" Fellwinn asks next. That had been another question plaguing her mind since first stepping on the boat from the mainland. Though she was also a reader of many books like Maars, she had yet to find any explanation for the floating island. It was very mysterious and obviously not something that you would see everyday.

"Hmmm… there is not much known. I know it floats two miles above the island and any attempt to reach the island has ended in death. It is also said to be home to the shifters beast god, Yurg, who was once a mortal shifter but ascended to the island above once he overcame great trials."

"How exactly have people tried to reach it? It's not like we have flying machines."

"I suppose teleportation; magic and the like."

"You don't have any notes on the subject, maybe like those ones on your desk?"

Fellwinn points and the woman looks over. She laughs again in a very cheerful, chime-like way at the question; especially since it came from a deva. She turns back to Fellwinn and says, "Oh no, trust me deva, the knowledge in those papers are stuff you learned in your first lifetime. It is basic language notes meant for the shifters who don't know any Common."

Fellwinn nods and the group thank the woman for her explanations and answering. Though they didn't get all the answers they were looking for, they did learn a bit that may help them in their travels. Any knowledge was good knowledge as far as Fellwinn was concerned.

As Avonax, Fellwinn, and Oahu began to turn away she suddenly stops them. The group turns again and she mentions Sevar as she eyes him across the room.

"You're friend doesn't look to well. Is something wrong with him?" The beautiful half-elf asks as she squints her eyes. The three adventurer's look over at Sevar and do notice that he does seem to look a bit haggard.

Realizing what the mission leader is talking about Oahu leans close to her and whispers, "He has draids…"

She nods with an "ahhh" of understanding and expresses her sympathy, but she then informs them that she can heal him.

Meanwhile, across the room, Sevar had his eyes on one of the shifters sitting at a desk. It was the male shifter who looked far older than Sevar was. The man was reading a book, but Sevar had noticed him staring at them the moment they entered. Especially Maars whom the shifter continued to peek at over the top of the book. Looking to learn a little bit more about their island culture, Sevar decides to talk to him.

"Hello there," Sevar says as he approaches.

The shifter moves his yellow gaze upon the strong bulk of Sevar. The clinking of beads and his necklace follow his movement as the shells around him bump into each other. The man nods to Sevar without shifting his gaze and says, "Hello, shifter brother. You are not from here, no?" Sevar shakes his head and explains that he is from the mainland.

"I find your culture very interesting," he explains to the man, who sets his book down. "Can I ask how you like it here at the mission?"

The shifter instantly begins to spark up a conversation, although in broke Common. Any hesitation Sevar had before about approaching the man was gone as the native gives a genuine smile and breaks into his story. He explains that he is happy to be here and is grateful for Thia, who apparently was the half-elf woman that the others were talking to. The shifter claims that she has taught him much.

"It is good that we learn good things. Make us know outside world, learn much more."

Sevar nods his thanks just as Maars approaches. The deva glides forward softly like some kind of ghost. The shifter man stares at the deva a moment and Maars stares back, their two yellow eyes matching each others gaze. The shifters mouth drops a bit as Maars towers over him. Sevar looks up at Maars in confusion, but Maars only stares at the native. He gives a habitual flip of his ponytail to get hair out of his eyes to better look at the shifter and eventually the deva says, "I noticed you watching me read this book." He holds up his history book on Raleo which he still has in his hand. "Does that bother you?"

The shifter looks confused and shakes his furry head. "What? No. It is just odd, see so many peoples. Devas never seen before, but read in books. Very interesting."

Maars is a bit taken aback by the comment. It really wasn't what he expected to hear. "Oh," Maars responds, unsure of how to continue the awkward conversation. A silence falls between them and Sevar nearly laughs. The shifter continues to look at him with a mix of confusion and awe, not saying a single word. It is as if Maars is some item on display "Well, ok then," Maars says, shying away from the conversation. Just as stealthily as he had put himself between the two men, Maars silently steps away from them.

Getting about ready to leave, Fellwinn heads over to two shifters near the teacher's desk who are talking to each other quietly. They are one male and one female and judging by the beads and necklaces adorning them, it is clear they are native. They whisper quietly and seriously to each other in their tight huddle. They both banter back and forth seriously while allowing little room for personal space.

As the deva approaches they fall even more silent and look at her suspiciously. However, they do not look in Fellwinn's golden, pupiless eyes but instead drop their gaze as if nervous of what Fellwinn has to say.

Fellwinn greets them and the male shifter gives a small, timid hello and adds a nod of his head. As this happens, Avonax walks over to them and stands on the other side of the male shifter. If these two were up to something, Avonax was ready to get it out of them. The elf knew how to apply pressure when pressure was needed.

The native shifter notices Avonax's arrival and shifts his feet again in a nervous shuffle, unsure of what to do when flanked by strangers. The woman shifter slowly takes a step back from these two newcomers to their quiet conversation. She looks obviously confused and a bit worried by what is going on.

"I had a question about the island in the sky. Could you tell me a bit more about that?" Fellwinn questions the man without hesitation.

The young shifter looks over at the deva shyly and stares down at her feet. He again diverts his eyes away from her face as if nervous of what he would find there. "It is our history…" He mumbles mumbles with a thick accent, but says no more. He closes his mouth shut.

Clearly something was wrong with these two; they were nervous about something. However, Fellwinn wasn't about to interrogate this man when in honesty he had done nothing wrong. Although, she did secretly enjoy when someone considered her a threat or someone higher than themselves, it wasn't much fun when the person she was residing over could barely even speak intelligently.

Seeing that they won't get anything out of the shifters, Avonax and Fellwinn move back towards Maars, Oahu, and Sevar. Forgetting that Thia could heal Sevar and not caring to be in the mission any longer, the five of them head quietly outside.

"We need to get up to that floating island," Avonax tells the group outside as he stares westward to where the shape of the island is visible in the sky. Though several miles away, the island was clearly floating without support against the clear, orange sky. The sun was now heading down behind it, giving the floating island an odd, mystical look. The group agrees heartily with Avonax that they should try to reach the upper island and together they head toward the stables where the horses were kept.

The stables were a simple wooden building with three walls, the final fourth missing to allow the horses to get some outside air. The smell of the animals quickly reach the group as they cross the street, but the stables themselves are fairly clean and hold three horses. The rancher, and older human man with dark brown hair, greets them and offers to sell a horse for seventy-five gold pieces.

"You guys should pool your money and get a horse," Fellwinn tells the others as they study the three manes within their respective stalls.

Maars shakes his head and laughs, "I've only heard bad things about trying to keep a horse. They'll just slow you down."

Realizing that now is not the right time, the group turns and heads back for the tavern looking to get a good meal and a nights rest. Once again the strange traveling party marches across the square as the sun begins to slowly set behind the island in the sky. However, even with the setting sun people are still milling about, even outside the tavern where the life and heart of the town seems to beat. Several men drink and laugh happily outside the doors and further down the street where the cobblestone turns to dirt some older ladies are gathering up their children from street to bring them inside for supper.

Swinging open the tavern door the party finds much of the same scene. Several of the people who were drinking when the party originally left are still there, their faces deep in a mug of ale. The two dwarves still sit at the bar, looking a bit more weary but still drinking strongly from their cups. The elf bard is still playing and is causing quite a show with the men. The drunk half-elf woman still sits at the bar and stares at the group entering. A few other of the patrons glance up from their meals to look at the strange group also, mainly at Fellwinn and Maars, but otherwise the group is left alone.

"I'm gonna go talk to the innkeeper about our rooms," Fellwinn tells the group as she heads off to the bar.

"Good idea," Avonax puts in, following the deva across the creaky floorboards.

The innkeeper is still behind the counter taking peoples orders and yelling things back to the cook behind him. He looks dirty and tired. His white apron is stained and sweat drips down his face and hairy arms. As Fellwinn and Avonax walk over to him he sighs in exhaustion. He quickly wipes some of his curly hair back from his sweaty brow and leans against the bartop. Clearly he does now want to have to deal again with the group who forced a reward out of him. With one final sigh he prepares himself as the two approach.

"Deva, elf." He nods to each in respect. "What can I do for you?"

"I'd like the key to my room please," Fellwinn asks instantly. The man bends down behind the bartop and pulls out a key which he hands to the deva.

"It's up the stairs and to the right." Fellwinn nods and begins to walk off as Avonax asks, "How much for some food?"

"I can get ya a meal for two silver or for five I can get you a feast."

Oahu and Sevar, who were slowly trailing behind the two, walk over. Oahu overhears the innkeeper and quickly moves up to the counter.

"Didn't we get room _and _board for our services?" Oahu asks suspiciously to both the innkeeper and Avonax. Sevar nods in agreement from behind him and the innkeeper rolls his eyes. He's getting used to these guys causing a fuss. They're gonna cause him to lose more money than they're worth.

"Yeah, we did," Avonax mumbles in more annoyance than anger. "I know because _I_ was the one who negotiated it."

This causes a bit of an argument between the two shifters and Avonax who try to pressure the elf into arguing with the innkeeper, but instead Avonax simply pays the five silver and the innkeeper goes to prepare the feast with the cook. He seems relieved that he isn't losing more business.

After several minutes the food comes out. The feast consists of chicken, ham, mashed potatoes, and an assortment of vegetables, all placed on the one open table in the room. The plates steam with the fresh hot food and it honestly looks like quite a good meal. It is also a fairly large serving, nearly filling up the whole tabletop.

Avonax and Fellwinn are the first to go grab food, but they do not sit down at the table. Even if they were to, there was little place to even set a plate down with no room on the tabletop. Instead they take their fill of the food and spread out across the room with plates in their hands.

Fellwinn walks towards the center of the room while dodging between the many people moving about. She scans the tavern for a place to go. It was very packed and there weren't many places she could even sit down to eat. However, the deva wasn't looking for just a place to eat but also for some good conversation. Her eyes finally settle on the drunken prostitute sitting at the bar. Seeing this as a good chance to have a little fun, Fellwinn goes to sit next to her.

Arriving at the seat, Fellwinn pulls out the stool and places her food on the bar next to the half-elf. The woman turns her body while leaning against the bar. She gives a sidelong glance at Fellwinn in confusion as the deva sits down regally at the bar.

"Can I help you with something?"

Fellwinn shrugs and begins to pick at her food. "Just some idle conversation. This is a bar isn't it?"

The prostitute peers over at Fellwinn as if trying to discern some secret agenda. This was the second time today that a deva had approached her. She remembered earlier when the male deva had come up and then left after he learned about her business proposition. Maybe her and the other one were a couple and this girl was looking for trouble? Or maybe there was some other reason for this occurrence? Not wanting to waste time, she gets right to the point.

"Ten gold for one hour. Better than the other whores around here."

Fellwinn looks a bit taken aback and doesn't say anything. She quickly regains her composure and looks down at the other woman. Unlike at the mission with the shifters, this woman didn't flinch or cower down under her gaze. Instead she retained firm eye contact, though her gaze was a bit sloppy as the woman was drunk.

The half-elf prostitute pushes her forward with a wave of her hand, trying to get some money out of the invoker. "Well are you interested?"

"I may be…" Fellwinn answers quietly.

Meanwhile, Avonax has gone over to listen to the female elf. Her voice is melodic and carries a frantic yet soothing melody over the rowdy crowd. She tiptoes nimbly around in the tight circle the men make for her as they clap their hands and stamp their feet. As her song ends the men yell for more in their raucous voices and she only eggs them on. She goes to each one raising her hands in the air asking for the men to be louder and louder. Avonax steps forward and she nods to him with a smile that could break hearts.

"Hello elf, nice to see another of my kind. How can I interest you? Would you like to hear a song perhaps?" Like the mission keeper Thia, her voice is like chimes on the wind.

"Why yes," Avonax laughs. "That's exactly why I came over here. Can you play 'A Chance Meeting'?"

The woman smiles and nods. She knows the song well. It was by the great human composer Jeremy Soule. She simply asks for 15 silver pieces. Avonax gladly hands them over and the music begins.

Though softer in tone than the other song, the men are still pleased as the elf pulls out a flute and begins her slow tune. Avonax takes a seat next to some of the men at a nearby table and begins to chow down. Inspired by the music, Oahu grabs some food and sits down next to Avonax to listen to the bard. Together they enjoy the music and eat their food in silence.

As Sevar and Maars walk over to the table to get some of their own food, Sevar notices the book from the mission in Maars's purple hands. The warden looks down in shock and then back up at the deva with a look of incredulous awe on his face.

"Maars!" Sevar blurts out.

The deva stops and looks over innocently.

"You stole that book from the mission!?"

Maars looks down and jumps a bit in surprise that the history book is still tight in his hands, but he tries to play it off with a quick excuse. "So, its for the sake of the quest! It could come in handy!"

Sevar looks stunned by this idea from Maars. Especially since at this point, they didn't even have any direct idea where they would be going aside from the faint plan that they wanted to get on the floating island. Plus, how would a history book of Raleo, the mainland, help them at all miles out here on an island in the middle of the ocean!

"Wha-! _No!_ It has to be returned! I'll go take it back to the mission right now!" Sevar was more than happy to go for in his mind he knew he'd be seeing Thia again. And that was reward enough in itself.

Maars shrugs however. Whether the book got returned or not, he really didn't care. "Ok, fine. I won't have to carry it."

Looking set in his determination, Sevar takes the book from Maars and bids the party fair well for a bit. He heads out the door and into the dirt street.

Maars shakes his head and shrugs once more before continuing on his mission to get food. He was hungry and it was time he stuffed himself. Picking up some delicious chicken and mashed taters like his companions before him, Maars scans the bar for a place to eat. He passes over some of the men and the two dwarves before his golden eyes fall onto Fellwinn and her female friend at the bar. He walks over and sits opposite of Fellwinn on the other side of the prostitute.

If the prostitute was surprised by Fellwinn before, her eyes nearly come out of their sockets when she finds another deva sitting next to her. The prostitute looks over at Maars in amazement, then back at Fellwinn, then back at Maars and shakes her head in an unbelieving way. "This'll be interesting." Hopefully they at least had money. She could hope.

Maars was well aware of what this half-elf woman did for a living and thought he'd have a little fun with Fellwinn. There really was nothing better to do at the moment. Looking across at her he asks, "What's this all about Fellwinn?" Fellwinn looks innocently down at her feet.

"_Fellwinn_," the prostitute laughs in her drunkenness. Clearly the name was funny to her. Maars thinks about laughing, but he is more interested in what his female compatriot has to say.

"Well, I thought maybe we could have some fun tonight," says the guilty deva. She looks back up at Maars, but there is no humor in her eyes nor in her voice. Just a hint of seriousness that almost throws Maars and the prostitute off balance.

"Fun as in how?" Maars asks cautiously. He laughs though to let off some steam. He already had an idea what she was talking about, but how she wanted to go about it he had no idea.

The prostitute looks between the both of them as they banter. This hadn't really happened to her before and she wasn't even sure she was prepared for a threesome with two devas. Was that even possible? Didn't they just reincarnate once they died? Which of course led to the question if they even had any reproductive organs?

"I don't know," Fellwinn continues as she looks at the deva shaman. "Maybe set her up with Sevar or something. It'll be funny." She looks down at the prostitute sternly. "Mam, would you perhaps be interested in a fine, young shifter with draids?"

The half-elf looks at her with a look of pure revulsion. "With draids? And a shifter? Are you serious? Hell no." Even _she_ wouldn't stoop that low.

The picture of how tonight would turn out now, in bed with a shifter with draids, was something that was just too much for her. At the same time, Maars was finally getting his own picture of what Fellwinn was talking about.

"Oh, so you're trying to hire this prostitute?"

Fellwinn rolls her eyes and puts the bridge of her nose between her fingers. Maars really was daft sometimes. "Well, we couldn't get the horse we have to try something!"

The talk of a horse really widens the half-elf's eyes. She stares at Fellwinn in shock.

"A _horse!?_ This may cost a bit more than you think…"

Realizing that nothing else was going to be happening here, Maars walks away from the table in disgust and goes to finish his meal with the others. It had finally hit him that this woman was a prostitute and was serious about it. He decides to throw her out of his mind as he watches the elf woman sing. Now there was a woman worth watching! Not Fellwinn and her new 'friend.'

Seeing all of this drama and watching Maars leave, the prostitute turns towards Fellwinn and asks in a no-nonsense way, "So, are you gonna pay out or not?"

Realizing that her plan was a lost cause the deva answers, "No, I'm sorry I think there's been a misunderstanding."

The half-elf lets out an angered sigh and throws her hands into the air before slamming them back down on the bartop. Her beer splashes a bit in her mug and lands onto the tabletop. The two drunken dwarves look over with a laugh as they rock in their seats and tug on their beards. She had spent all this time on a prospective deal only to get nothing out of it.

"Then get lost," she says snottily, not even trying to be remotely respectful to Fellwinn anymore.

Fellwinn stands. That invitation to leave was good enough for her. Her meal finished, she decides to head upstairs and nab the bed before anyone else. She begins to walk towards the wide, wooden stairs in the back of the tavern. At the table with Avonax, Oahu watches her go. He realizes that she is heading upstairs to get a bed and, getting the same idea, stands and goes for the key to his own room. He wasn't about to let anyone else get his bed after he had called it! Plus, he was supposed to share a room with Sevar. He had seen him leave. Best to grab the bed now before his friend got back. Wherever he might have gone.

* * *

All the way across town Sevar walks past the fountain and through the square for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. Book still in tow, the shifter passes by the gnome man selling shrooms and out into the street where the mission is. The mission is still as it was though the setting sun cast long shadows into the streets before him. The angry gnome man had also seemed to disappear, but that was probably for the better.

_Stupid Maars, why would he even steal the book in the first place…_ He thinks to himself as he heads through the archway, pass the grass, and into the building.

Thia was still inside and things are much the same. They hadn't been gone very long anyways. He heads over to the pretty half-elf, this one more presentable than the prostitute at the bar, and presents the book to her. "Sorry, my friend took this by accident; somehow. I'm just here to return it."

"Oh, thank you so much!" She says with a wide smile as she takes the book from his furry hands. Her hazel eyes lock onto his and Sevar's heart skips a beat for a second.

Sevar is pleased; he enjoys a pretty ladies smile, even a half-elf one. Maybe he could say a couple of things to make her blush. Give her some of his old sweet talk that he used to use on the ladies back at the mainland. He might be a shifter, but that didn't mean he was a bad looking one. However, her next words completely obliterated his thoughts about laying some smooth talk on her as she suddenly brings up a very sensitive and embarrassing subject.

"I hear you might have…" she leans closer and Sevar's hear suddenly drops.

"… _draids_."

Sevar nods. What else was he going to do? Though discouraged, in true fashion to himself he exuberantly says, "Yeah, I do!"

It sounded a bit foolish. His voice had maybe a bit too much enthusiasm with it, but whatever. Sevar flashes her a nice smile. He's keeping to his promise to Oahu and the others that these draids won't bring him down!

Though a bit of an embarrassing subject, Thia seems to have dealt with this before. She nods and explains that she can cure him. She just needs to take him into the back room so she can help him. This catches Sevar off guard a bit. Why did they need to go to the back room?

"Ok…" Sevar says, a little suspicious. Was he about to score some half-elf poontang?

Following Thia, he goes into the backroom where all the shifters sleep. Cots line the walls of the room, which seems more of an elongated hallway that leads to nowhere in particular. Chests are placed below the beds where the shifters store their personal belongings and around the corner at the end of the room there is a stovetop for cooking. At the moment, there was no one inside.

"Now, pull down your pants," Thia says as she turns to face him.

"What!" Sevar says, shocked at the bluntness of this lady. He knew something was a bit fishy! This might be a new record for the quickest he had ever scored with a girl! Maybe it was hard to get any out here on the island, but that didn't seem likely with the woman's good looks. However, just as she had when talking to Fellwinn earlier, Thia laughs and shakes her head.

"I'm sorry, it's not like that," she says as if instantly reading his mind. "It's just what needs to be done for the cure. I've healed many other shifters, it's just that the infected part centers around the groin."

Sevar takes a sigh of relief, not sure if he is glad she wasn't going to pounce on him or not. Her explanation sounded scientific enough and Sevar didn't know much about healing. So without another word the shifter shrugs and drops his pants.

Thia kneels down to take a closer look. Sevar looks up in the air, trying to ignore such a beautiful woman near his genitles. It was a bit awkward. However, Thia simply takes a look at how infected it is and, seeing that the disease it isn't too bad, says a few magic words while waving her hand over his penis.

Within seconds the infection is gone! A weight feels as if it is lifted from Sevar and he begins to feel a little bit more rejuvenated as if he had just gained a great deal more energy. With a sigh of relief he lifts his pants back up from the hard, cold floor and thanks her greatly.

"It's the least I can do for returning my book," Thia says as she stands back up and gives him another kind, but professional smile.

Not wanting to make things even more awkward for himself, Sevar bids Thia a quick farewell. He needed to get back to the tavern and find the others. More energy or not, he still felt tired from the journey here and his sea legs were still getting used to walking on solid ground.

He heads out of the mission, healthy once more and heads back to the inn for a good nights sleep!

* * *

Back at the inn, the party seems to all be heading for sleep. However, Fellwinn isn't quite ready for bed yet. After reaching the second floor the deva looks round the hallway. It is a fairly large hallway with different doors leading off to eight rooms, four on each side. It is dark up here. With no windows and only the light from the lanterns downstairs seeping up through the stairway to guide her, it is difficult to see.

Fellwinn didn't trust the darkness and she sure as hell didn't trust this tavern. If there were goblins in the basement, who knows what might be living in these rooms now? For all she knew they could be jumped in the night by a group of rats or something. She wasn't willing to take that chance.

The deva passes by the first two rooms to either side of her that are nearest to the stairway. If she understood the innkeeper correctly, these two rooms were their own. There would be time to check those later before they slept. For now she was worried about the six other rooms that led off into the darkness.

Opening the door to the first room nearest her, she peers inside. It is dark within, definitely darker than the hallway. Fellwinn inches forward carefully to stand in the center of the small room. The furnishings within are simple. A small bed, a nightstand, and a water bucket for washing up. The deva walks over to the nightstand and opens it up, looking for anything that the previous inhabitant left behind. She finds nothing and after feeling confident that the room is secure, she moves on to the next.

At this point Maars heads up the stairs. He yawns as he walks slowly up, wanting to finally settle down in a bed. As he reaches the landing he looks forward as Fellwinn crosses the hallway to get ready to inspect another room.

"Hey, Fellwinn!" Maars yells down the hall. She hears him, but pretends not to. She has no time to talk to Maars right now and she doesn't care to entertain him when she has a mission to accomplish.

Maars was almost certain she heard him and was just ignoring him. Shrugging, he plops to the ground and sits in a cross-legged position. He begins to meditate in the hallway as he waits for Fellwinn to finish up her inspection. Meditating always helped clear his mind after a long day. As a shaman it allowed him time to communicate with the spirits of natureand allow for them to fill his life aurora with blessings for the day to come.

All of this is lost on Oahu who comes up next. He just passes Maars though and looks down at him on the floor. He gives the deva a nice hello, but in his deep meditation, Maars barely hears him. Oahu doesn't care though. He just wants the bed that he had rightfully called as his earlier. Knowing the others, or what he'd seen of them during this day as he had just met them this morning, they would likely try to take it from him given the chance.

It had been a long day for him and sleep sounded so amazing. Using his key he opens the door of his room and walks inside. It is much like the other that Fellwinn had been in earlier. It was simple inside, but it would do nicely for his current needs. The first thing Oahu notices is the bed. With a sigh of relief, Oahu walks towards it in a tired stupor. He'll fall asleep in his armor for all he cared, he just wanted to lay down. However, inches from the bed he suddenly stops and turns back towards the door.

The others would likely be coming up soon and he'd be forced to share his bed, probably with Sevar. Or worse, one of the others. He had just met them today and already Sever was romping around with them as if they'd been pals their whole life. He wasn't about to share a room with them when he hardly knew them. Sever could do what he liked with his new 'friends', Oahu had different plans.

Thought Sevar was a longtime friend, he could find his own way. Walking back towards the door, Oahu locks it and, with a smile, hops into bed. The moment his head hits the soft feather-stuffed pillow, he is already nearly asleep and all thoughts of Sevar, Avonax, Fellwinn, Maars fade away.

It's not long before Avonax comes up the stairs. His meal had been delicious and the elf bard had been wonderful to watch. Now all he wanted was a good nights rest before he headed off in the morning to whatever else lay ahead. He heads off to the left towards his room and past Maars who he notices is meditating on the ground. It was a bit odd to meditate in the middle of the hallway, but Avonax didn't know weird deva ways and thus assumed it was natural. It was not.

Reaching the door, Avonax turns the knob to enter but obviously finds that it is locked. Realizing now that Oahu is a dick, Avonax decides to have a little fun of his own. Whether the door was locked or not, he didn't care!

Being as stealthy as he can, the elf crouches and reaches into a leather pouch on his belt. From it he pulls a small, metal wire curved to look like a skinny 'U'. One of the sides is a bit more extended than the other and it makes it look like an odd pair of tweezers. This item is a kind of thieves tool and something Avonax never left home without! Though not always used to unlocking doors that were locked by what he now considered a friend, Avonax thought it served its purpose anyhow.

The elf inserts the 'U' looking device into the lock and slowly begins to turn. There are a couple of jingles and clicks as the tool slides over the locking mechanism. Avonax carefully puts his ear to the door. It had been awhile since he'd done this as there was no need to use it on the long boat ride over. However, Avonax still considered himself fairly good at the art of thievery and within seconds the door silently swings open. Inside it is dark but with his elf low-light vision Avonax can see that Oahu is asleep on the bed. The shifter failed to take off any of his armor and he breathes heavily with each breath of air. He clearly hasn't heard a thing Avonax has done.

Downstairs Sevar finally arrives back from his mini side-quest at the mission. The tavern is as it was, though a few more people have left to go back to their homes or perhaps to get some rest. It was clear his four friends had done the same.

He eyes the stairway in the corner of the building and begins to head up. He first sees Maars on the ground with his eyes closed. He looked asleep, though his straight backed posture gave away that he was not. Clearly he was meditating on something. Fellwinn was in the back of the corner having just left a room and was now heading over to another above it and Avonax was crouched down by an open door to what he thought was one of his and Oahu's room for the night. It was a weird situation to walk into. Perhaps something was awry.

"Hey! Hey! Sevar come here!" Avonax whispers the shifter. He waves his hand, motioning for him to come over.

Sevar quietly walks over and looks into the room. Oahu is right smack in the center of the bed sleeping. If Sevar had wanted to share the bed with him, there would have been no room to do so.

"He tried to lock us out, but I picked the lock."

"What an asshole!" Sevar whispers back. So _that's_ what was happening. Nothing too dire.

"Hey, Maars, come look at this!" Avonax replies. However, Maars is still in his meditative trance and says nothing. Avonax shrugs and tries to call over Fellwinn.

"I'm securing the hallway!" She whisper-yells back to Avonax. "You know, from like goblins and rats and stuff."

Avonax watches as she reaches a locked door at the end of the hallway. She puts here ear to the door and inside the deva can hear people arguing. She tries to turn the knob to get inside. The lock jiggles but stops before it can turn a full 180 degrees. She lets it fall back into place. However, the sound of her trying to open the door catches the attention of someone inside. There is a sound of heavy footsteps and the arguing subsides for a moment. A large man with a beer belly swings open the door and steps out into Fellwinn's face.

"Ey!" He yells at the deva. "What'ya think you're doing!?"

Fellwinn apologizes and steps away. The man contorts his face in anger and slams the door in her face.

Avonax shakes his head in amusement at Fellwinn disturbing the tavern's patrons, but otherwise ignores her. He turns his focus back to Oahu and stealthily walks forward. Raising his hands into the air and creeps up to the bed. Sevar snickers in amusement from the doorway. A few feet from the bed Avonax raises his hands in the air and moves a bit closer. Taking a deep intake of air Avonax lets out a loud screech which fills the room.

Oahu's eyes shoot open and the shifter jumps awake! He places a hand on his chest and looks into the darkness at Avonax a few feet away.

"What the hell?" Oahu says as he looks at Avonax. Sevar walks over from the doorway and stares down at his friend sternly. Avonax also looks down at Oahu and says meanly, "That's for locking us out of our room, dick."

"Yeah, what the fuck Oahu, I thought we were sharing a room," Sevar adds in.

Oahu shakes his head to get a hold of himself and stands up, throwing one of the pillows and blankets to the ground. He goes over to the washbasin to clean up a bit. His nap had been nice even if it didn't last long and he wasn't about to deal with these two idiots.

On the other side of the hall Fellwinn has come back from her inspection. She prided herself on checking every room, even the one that was occupied. She had even found a couple of gold in one of the nightstands! As if on command, Maars awakens from his trance. He watches from the ground as Avonax crosses in front of his without a word and goes over to wash himself within Fellwinn's room. He hears as Fellwinn greets him warmly and the two begin a small conversation as equals.

Feeling refreshed from his meditation, Maars stands and heads over to the room where Sevar and Oahu were. He looks back towards Fellwinn and Avonax's room and sees that Fellwinn is in the bed. However, Sevar and Oahu's were all free. With more energy than before and seeing that no one knew he was awake, Maars decides he's going to make a jump for the only available bed.

Maars makes his move quickly and quickly enters the room. Perhaps it was just a bit too quickly, because the flop of his sandals alert the two shifters of someone approaching and they instantly know what's going on.

Oahu quickly turns and with his feline reflexes tries to pounce back on top of the bed. Sevar however has another plan and instead of making a move for the bed, tries to exert himself least. Moving both of his legs in a sweeping motion, he tries to trip the both of them before they can get far. It is a crazy scene as the wood creaks under all the pressure and movement.

As the ground stops shaking and the dust settles, as nimble as the two shifters are, it's the deva who finds himself atop the bed.

Maars smiles up at the two creatures as he makes himself cozy. He snuggles back into his pillow happily and spreads his body out on the mattress as if it were his own. Not wanting to show his annoyance, Oahu lies down on the floor and picks up the blanket and pillow he previously thrown to the ground. Circling around the two items once, Oahu finally makes a little sleeping area for himself and lays down. To rub it in, he tells Maars and Sevar that he is extremely comfortable and whether it was the truth or not he again quickly falls back to sleep.

Across the hall Fellwinn and Avonax also quickly fall asleep. Fellwinn kindly offers the bed to her elf companion and Avonax gladly takes it. There could be worse things in the world than sleeping with a beautiful deva. Things like sleeping with two stinky shifters and a not so beautiful deva.

Sevar is the only one left standing in the room above Oahu who sleeps soundly on the snore. He walks over to the washbasin and begins to splash water on his face. It had been a long day and he was still a bit dirty from the fight in the basement he had had earlier. As he shakes himself clean, careful not to splash water on Oahu, his stomach growls fiercely and he realizes that he hadn't even eaten the whole day. Turning around, he spots Maars who is still awake and sitting on the bed.

"Maars, I'm hungry. Want to come down and get some food with me?"

Maars looks up at him and nods, "Of course, Sevar!"

The two travel down the steps and into the tavern which is still very much active as always. Maars leads the Sevar to the table where the feast was, only to discover that it had already been cleaned up. Shrugging, Sevar goes over to the innkeeper and orders a meal. The innkeeper, looking ever more tired than usual, nods and turns to prepare Sevar his meal.

Within minutes the meal is out and together he and Maars sit as Sevar chomps down on his first meal since arriving on the island. As with the feast the meal consisted of a chicken leg and some mashed potatoes. It wasn't Sevar's favorite, but he ate it down and he couldn't help but think that it was absolutely delicious. Maars sits silently by him and watches as the bard continues to play the last few songs for the night.

It only takes a few minutes for Sevar to wolf down his food and once he is finished a wave of fatigue finally washes over him. Back up the steps the two go and back into the room. Sevar closes the door and locks it securely while Maars jumps in the bed. Sevar turns and sees as Maars smiles comfortably within the sheets of the bed. Sevar rolls his eyes and steps forward.

"I don't care, I'm just gonna sleep beside you," he says, wanting to stay in a warm bed for his first night on the island.

Maars shrugs. He really didn't care as long. "Ok, just give me some room alright."

Together the two lay down beside each other and slowly close their eyes awaiting morning. It had been a long day and the five adventurer's had learned a lot about each other. As Sevar and Maars drift away into subconscious they wonder what new adventures the morning light would bring them and where they would be headed for next.

They had no idea what was in store for them.

* * *

**Music:**

Tavern Basement

Title – Title

Artist – Koji Kondo

Album – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Original Sound Tracks

NOTE: PLAYED SOFTER THAN WHEN IN THE TAVERN.

* * *

Tavern

Title – Title

Artist – Koji Kondo

Album – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Original Sound Tracks

* * *

Aelar's Landing:

Title – Windfall Island

Artist – Koji Kondo

Album – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Original Sound Tracks

* * *

Tavern

Title – A Chance Meeting

Artist – Jeremy Soule

Album – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Original Game Soundtrack

NOTE: PLAYED ONLY AFTER REQUESTED BY AVONAX.

* * *

Tavern Upstairs

Title – A Chance Meeting

Artist – Jeremy Soule

Album – The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Original Game Soundtrack

NOTE: PLAYED SOFTER THAN WHEN IN THE TAVERN


	5. The Unexpected Meeting and Parting of

**The Unexpected Meeting and Parting of Ways; Among Other Things**

Act I - Adventurers

Date Played: 11/07/12

* * *

Through the night the adventurer's sleep soundly. The day before had been long and, although not very hard, it had taken a lot out of them.

The following morning Maars is the first to awaken from his sleep as the sound of the music that the bard so loved to play rose up from the wooden floorboards below. Next to him lay Sevar just as he had left him. The shifter snored softly in his sleep. He too had neglected to take off his armor.

Rolling out of bed, careful not to wake Sevar or step on Oahu, Maars surveys the room and peers out the window. It was still dark out and the stars continued to twinkle in the light morning sky. On the street below a few people walked around sleepily while getting ready for the rise of the sun. Clearly they were headed off to work. Most of them were stronger men who looked like they were heading for the docks. Looking up at the sky and peering at the destination of the moon, the deva could tell that it was about 5 AM.

Yawning although he had almost gotten over ten hours of sleep, Maars stretches. He reaches his tall arms towards the roof of the room and yawns quietly. His bones stretch and he feels the cool air against his naked torso. He liked to sleep and travel with no shirt on. It made him feel closer to nature and more at peace with the world around. It wasn't like anyone would care. He wasn't in bad shape and who was going to tell a deva to put a shirt on?

It had been good to sleep in a bed on solid ground. It's not that he disliked the feeling of sleeping on a boat as he had done for the past few months, but that bed had been pure heaven. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to get up or not. Maybe he could just roll straight back into the bed without waking Sevar and tuck himself back into-

As if a wave of electricity passes over him, Maars suddenly feels an urgent pull of magical energy from across the hall. He stops his stretch and lowers his arms rapidly. He turns quickly to the door and waits as if expecting something powerful to barge through. However, nothing happens and Maars relaxes a bit. Yet the intense pull of the magic still lingers and he feels it within every fiber of his body.

It was extremely odd. If there were some magical force within the building surely he would have felt it last night. Confused, he walks carefully over to the door and opens it up. Better to check it out and be safe then regret it later on. His natural deva curiosity urged him forward and he couldn't resist himself. He had to know what this magic was!

Outside the hallway is dark and dimly lit as usual. Light still comes up from the stairs below and the music of the bard, that had originally been playing when they first had entered, still wafted up from the stairs. Clearly that bard never slept if she was still entertaining the guests. However, the bard wasn't Maars' main concern now. It was the magical pull which seemed to be coming from Avonax and Fellwinn's room. Maars takes a deep breath of air and begins to move forward.

Oahu is next to wake. He stretches a bit on the floor and cracks some of his joints. If he hadn't been so tired from the night before his sleep would have been very uncomfortable, but instead it had been quite fitful. Plus, after traveling so much with Sevar around the mainland countryside, he was used to sleeping on the ground.

Standing up, the shifter walks over to the open door to peer out into the hallway. Maars doesn't notice him. Perhaps disturbed by his roommate's movements from sleep, Sevar begins to twitch in his bed. Oahu turns to say good morning only to find that his friend isn't actually awake yet.

Without opening up his eyes, Sevar sits up and begins sleep walk over to the tin bucket which serves as the toilet. He pees into it creating a very unpleasant, hollow sound which rings around the room. Oahu rolls his eyes and just shrugs. This was normal for Sevar. He did have some odd habits. He chooses not to bother him and instead looks back over at Maars, curious as to what his new companion is doing. Behind him Sevar finishes up his pee. He gives a little shake and walks back to the bed before tucking himself in and falling right back into a restful sleep.

Across the hall in the other room, Avonax begins to stir within his own bed. As his eyes flutter open to the darkness of the room the elf blinks a few times. The cold air of the room hits his face and he considers pulling the covers tighter up over himself and sleeping for a few more hours. It was difficult getting out of bed when it seemed so cold in the room and he was so comfy. Moving his legs, he tries to get some blood pumped into them. He kicks them around the bed, disturbing the sheets and causing a bit of noise. He stops suddenly as he remembers that Fellwinn is in bed with him and he doesn't want to wake her up. Something was off though. He had had much more room to kick than he should have if Fellwinn were with him. He rolls over and looks to his left to see if she was awake. What he sees surprised him.

Fellwinn was nowhere to be found. The beautiful deva he had been sleeping next to had disappeared entirely! The bed barely looks as if someone had been sleeping next to him.

A cold chill runs over Avonax as he tries to think of where she had gone. He hadn't heard her leave in the night and it really did look like he had had the room to himself. What could have happened to her? Why would she run off, especially so early in the morning?

Shaking his body once more to get awake, Avonax tries to catch his nerves. He stands up from his bed and takes a peek out the window which reveals a small back ally with some crates. It was very difficult to see anything, even with his elf vision. Turning, he begins to look around the room. He opens the drawers to the nightstand and even looks under the bed. He knew Fellwinn had to have some things with her when she spent the night, but he finds nothing that could be hers. It was as if the woman had never been there.

Except for one thing.

Looking at the foot of his bed, Avonax finds a palm-sized green stone. Looking closer, he sees that it is hollow and there are holes within it. It was also carved with very intricate symbols and inscriptions. They almost looked like carvings of snakeskin. Within the orb itself was another carved stone and within that one was yet a third tiny stone. All three of them trapped the one beneath it in an odd sort of pattern.

Avonax bends down closer to it and feels magical energy radiating off of it. It is very strong and the elf is unsure what to make of it. Playing it safe, he doesn't touch it.

At this point Maars bursts into the room, also sensing the pull of this strange object. "What's going on Avonax!?" He asks excitedly as he stands in the doorway.

Avonax stands up and faces his friend a couple of feet away. "I don't know Maars. It seems Fellwinn has left."

"Where did she go?"

"I don't know, I've been trying to look for clues."

Oahu, nosey as he is, walks up to the door from across the hallway. "What's going on guys?"

Avonax quickly explains the situation and the three of them begin to talk it over. Sevar finally wakes up from all the commotion and begins to tiredly head over to them. He is relieved that he doesn't have to go to the bathroom, someone already seems to have pissed in the bucket in their room. He smiles at his good fortune and continues forward.

"Maybe she went downstairs," Avonax ponders as he places a hand on his chin, deep in thought.

"Yes, that could be it, we could ask around," Maars puts in. It still didn't seem to add up though, especially with the intense magical artifact just lying in the room in plain sight.

The group decides on this plan of action: they would head downstairs and ask around if anyone had seen a female deva leave. Surely someone would have spotted her; it seemed that the tavern never really closed and it wasn't often that you saw a deva walking around especially one as beautiful and elegant as Fellwinn.

However, as the group prepares to break and get ready to head downstairs, the second strange occurrence of the day rears its mysterious head. There is a sudden _whoosh!_ from a gust of air from nowhere in particular. A green swirling portal begins to open into the center of the room! It spins on itself, tumbling round and round before expanding and getting larger and larger until it is about six feet high and three feet across.

Avonax who is closest to the portal and the only one not nearest the door turns in shock. A look of surprised horror comes onto his face and he looks as if he is about to scream in fear. A black mass appears from within the portal. It grows larger by the instant as it gets closer and closer to the portal opening. Suddenly all thoughts about Fellwinn and the magical artifact disappear as the group prepares to face whatever – or whomever – was about to come through the portal.

As the figure gets closer, it begins to take the shape of a skinny man. It is clear that he is an eladrin, a close cousin of the elven race who hailed from the Feywild. This tidbit of information does little to calm the group's nerves though. As the portal opening begins to get fully blocked by this figure, the eladrin starts to take shape and falls out of the portal and into full three-dimensional space. The man lands on his feet with a loud, "Woooooaaaaahhhhh!" and nearly falls over in the process.

The eladrin has bleach-blonde hair and stands almost six feet high. His robes are tattered and bloody and he looks a mess. As he stands in the center of the room he nearly falls over, but ends up catching himself on a long quarterstaff that he carries with him. He breathes heavily with each passing moment and looks as if he's been running from something.

Maars, Oahu, and Sevar quickly rush backwards in fear of this new arrival. The eladrin barely notices but instead looks over at Avonax as he is the closest one to him. Avonax wants none of this though and gives a whimper of terror before fleeing quickly to the door. Seeing that the others have backed away towards the stairs he quickly calls for them to come back over just in case this strange man tries to attack him or anything like that.

The eladrin, seeing that he has terrified the living hell out of these four strangers, quickly says, "I'm sorry to frighten anybody! I have merely landed here from my portal, I don't know where I am!"

"You scared the shit out of me! Who are you!?" Avonax yells, turning around and leaning on the doorway. He clamps a hand to his chest, trying to slow his rapidly beating heart. The battered eladrin looks at him in dismay and continues with his story.

"I… I don't know where I am… but I have arrived here from a portal that my friend made for me while we were under attack…" Taking another deep breath, the eladrin calms himself a little and then straightens up. He pulls his robes down, trying to get the crinkles out of them and also wipes away a bit of dirt to the floor. Avonax continues to look at him in confusion as he gets his own breathing under control. The others, having come back to the room after the shock of the random portal being opened up, stand behind Avonax as they watch the eladrin.

Having straightened up the best he could, the eladrin continues his story. He still doesn't look in the best of conditions though with his raggedy robes and dry blood stuck in his hair. However, he forges on with vigor as he desperately tries to explain his situation. "My settlement went under attack and my best friend opened a portal for me to bring me here." The rest of the party is dumbfounded, amazed that such a thing could even happen. Who was this man!?

"Where was this attack?" Sevar asks as he peers into the room from the hallway.

"In the Drake Forest," the eladrin responds. The man doesn't hesitate, but answers on point.

"Are you hurt?"

The eladrin nods. "Yes, I feel very weak…"

If the eladrin were lying, he didn't look it. Clearly the man appeared very weak and by the state of his clothes he had obviously been through a rough day. Avonax gives a sigh and hopes to the gods that he doesn't regret this. Rushing over, he takes the eladrin under his shoulder.

The weight of the man pulls him down, but the elf doesn't mind. Surprisingly, they are both 5'11" which helped with the support. Avonax watches as the man's head sags weakly beneath him and he looks as if he were going to pass out.

"Well I can help with that little problem," Maars says confidently as he strides over to the eladrin. His fear was gone now; if the eladrin did try anything the four of them could take him down. However, Maars was too trusting for that and didn't think that was going to happen. Bending down, the shaman utters some healing words as he prays to the spirits. His healing instincts quickly kick in and Maars focuses intensely. Within instants some of the color begins to flow back into the eladrin's face and he starts to look a bit healthier.

"Thank you," he says softly as he slips out from under Avonax's arm. With some of his strength renewed, the man tests the ground beneath him. He doesn't topple or wobble on his feet and seems to be a bit stronger. He looks up with a smile, but it quickly disappears as he looks around. All of these stranger's faces still looked confused as to why he were here. Evidently his story hadn't sunken in yet. In an effort to help them better understand he continues on with his narrative. "But I didn't always live in the Drake Forest. I used to hold court for the King. I knew one of the nine royal guards there."

Avonax instantly raises his head in surprise. The man seems to notice and looks over at him attentively. He studies the young elf for a moment, looking at his face. A look of confused recognition settles over him and Avonax nearly backs away under the bizarre stare.

"In fact… you look familiar… Did you or someone you know serve there?"

Avonax nods quickly, "Yes, my father did."

"Yes," the eladrin says to himself. This was where he had seen the elf before. He hadn't actually seen him, but he had met his father. The eladrin nods in a knowing acknowledgement and explains, "I did know him. He passed away rather early…"

Avonax nods sadly. It wasn't everyday someone brought up his father; it was something that he tried not to think about too much. It wasn't helpful that he had brought up his early death either.

A sudden flash bursts into his head. It was of his father fighting a shifter. Of the shifter slicing down his father while he stood by and watched in hopelessness. Of the fear that plagued him as he watched his father die before his very eyes at the hand of some crazed animal.

He shakes his head slightly to try and get the image out of his head as his heart began to beat a bit faster. He is interrupted as Sevar begins to speak. The shifter was looking around the room, finally noticing that something was amiss.

"Wait, where's Fellwinn?"

Avonax shrugs as he is pulled back into reality. The image fades from his head and he represses it once more, not wanting to think about his horrible past. Instead he looks up as Sevar stares at him for answers.

"I don't know. I woke up and she was gone."

"Well did you look around the room?"

"I found nothing but this."

He points at the small sphere on the bed. Sevar and Oahu look down at it in curiosity, though they cannot feel any energy coming off of it as they are not as attuned to magic as the others in the room. However, the mysterious eladrin man also looks down and gives a gaze of deep thought as he can obviously feel the magic.

Maars nods and walks forward. He had barely had time to inspect this artifact before the strange portal had appeared, but now his focus was back where it belonged. "I can feel the magical energy resonating off of it," he says as he stares down at the orb. The sphere looked plain enough, but the magic coming from it said that it was far from ordinary.

The eladrin also nods and looks down with Maars. Clearly he is as intrigued by the orb as everyone else in the room. "Yes, it does release some sort of energy. I can feel it strongly as a wizard."

"Did you touch it yet?" Maars asks as he looks up at Avonax.

"No, not yet."

"Well I'm not touching it!" Sevar says in finality as he folds his hairy arms and watches the group. He wasn't about to start touching strange objects that could be dangerous. Better to have the others do it for him.

"Perhaps, I will…" Maars says as he reaches down towards the object. He hesitates over it though, unsure of what will happen. He recoils his hand in afterthought and says, "But… then again, I don't know…"

The five men stand there for a second as they stare down at the orb and wonder what to do. Not wanting to think too much about it, Avonax suddenly reaches down quickly before anyone can stop him. He wasn't going to waste all day sitting around to figure out what would happen. They had other things to deal with now. The others barely have time to see what he is doing before he grasps the orb and lifts it into the air. As his fingers grip around it in a tight grasp he feels and experiences… absolutely nothing. It is fairly anticlimactic. However, as he holds the orb up to inspect he sees Fellwinn's name etched very tiny into one of the carvings.

"I believe this is Fellwinn's. She may have carved it." He holds it out so Maars can observe it and asks, "Is this perhaps a deva artifact?"

Maars moves a bit closer and looks down at the object in Avonax's hand before saying, "Well, it did belong to Fellwinn and she was a deva."

"That's not quite what I meant…" Avonax laughs.

Everyone in the group begins to take their turns looking over the orb. Avonax passes it off to Maars who then passes it to Oahu. Everyone's reservations about touching the strange object seem to have passed as it goes from one person to the next. Avonax's little 'test run' was good enough for him and if he looked fine then they had no reason to fear such a small object. No one feels anything strange when holding it, but the dormant magical energy still fills the air with a static feel for those who can sense it.

"Well, I suppose we can go downstairs and see what we can learn about Fellwinn," Avonax says as Oahu passes the stone to Sevar as he seems pretty uninterested in it. "Maybe someone saw her walk out."

"May I see the orb?" The eladrin asks as Sevar studies it. Sevar lifts his fuzzy head and looks into the eladrin's innocent eyes. Though the man didn't seem to be causing any trouble, his entrance was still a bit out of the ordinary. He squints his eyes in suspicion and clutches the orb a little bit closer to himself. "I'm sorry, but exactly _who_ are you? We've never actually met."

The party thoughts on Fellwinn disappear once more as they again look over at the new member who had just appeared. For a moment they had almost forgotten all about him.

The man stands there awkwardly as the others study him over another time and he again feels as if he should give them a bit more information on who he is. "Ah, forgive me," he begins with a small, yet nervous laugh. "My name is Zephial. I seem by chance to have landed here from the portal. I must find my way back and make sure everything is alright."

Avonax and Sevar laugh softly at Zephial's statement. "Well you're pretty damn far away from the Drake Forest right now," Avonax informs the eladrin.

This confuses Zephial who asks, "Well… where exactly am I?"

"Aelar Island. At Aelar's Landing to be exact."

"Hmmm…" Zephial ponders this for some time trying to wrap it around his head. "Why was I sent here though?"

"Maybe it had something to do with this artifact?" Sevar asks, holding it up.

"It's possible… the portal could have been leading me here to this object due to it's high magical energy."

"Unless there's something else around that's just as magical," Avonax thought aloud.

All of this was very sudden for him. Just moments ago he had been under attack from a variety of forces and now he was standing here with four strangers, miles away from his home, on an island that not many had been to before. As he stood like an object in a museum, he knew that perhaps he should make the best out of a bad situation. He was quite an inquisitive man and it wasn't often one found themselves wounded, miles away from home, on a recently discovered island where he was lucky enough to meet a group of strangers that were able to heal and help him.

He thought again about the attack he had just narrowly escaped from. The last thing he remembered was his friend Rennac. He had been there, opening the portal for him, telling him to jump through before the goblins attacking their village busted through the doors to overtake them. Rennac had sacrificed his life for him. He would never forget that. Or maybe his friend was still alive. It was a longshot, but there had to be some hope.

As he looked around at the elf, deva, and two shifters in the room, he couldn't help but think that they were a strange traveling party. Yet they had assisted him and perhaps they could help a bit more. At least until he recovered enough to make his way back across the ocean to Raleo, which could take months. If anything, he should just be happy he wasn't about to get his head chopped off by goblins or the like.

Taking a deep breath he looks over at Avonax and the other in turn. "I seem to be here for some reason, and it is very lucky indeed that I knew your father Avonax. Would you care if I traveled with you for the time until I can find my way back and get my head straight?"

The party looks at one another. As their slide pass over each other they silently come to an agreement. They were fairly new at traveling together anyways and it wasn't as if they were doing anything really important. If anything they were likely to go their separate ways in a couple of days at any rate, what would it matter if one more member joined them? Plus, perhaps he had something to offer.

Altogether they agree that it'll be alright Zephial joins them. The eladrin flashes them all a wide smile which seems out of place when compared to his raggedy clothes. Then again, his whole figure looked out of place in his clothes as he wasn't a bad looking man. He just seems as if he'd been through quite an ordeal.

"Well met Zephial," Sevar says as he walks forward with his hand raised. Zephial steps forward and shakes the shifters firm, but friendly handshake with an equal one of his own. "My name is Sevar, this is my friend Oahu and these our are companions, Maars and Avonax."

Oahu, who has been standing away from the whole procession, snorts to himself as he looks over at Avonax and Maars. "Companions…" he mumbles and quietly laughs to himself.

He still hadn't gotten over the fact that they had just met these men. Clearly Fellwinn didn't want to be around any longer and neither did he. He and Sevar had come to this island together and he wasn't sure what they were doing hanging around with these guys. They'd be better off on their own. Sevar was always meeting new people and befriending them much to quickly before he had a say in it. That was just his youth though. Nonetheless, he wanted to be on their way. They would move faster without the others. But as Sevar, Avonax, Maars, and this new straggler walked from the room and towards the stairs, he could do little but sigh and follow them. For now.

Together the five men walk down the stairs and back towards the busy tavern area. Sevar finally hands the artifact over to Zephial, who examines it for a moment before passing it to Maars who says that he will study it and try to figure out its purpose in his free time. "Aren't we even going to check the other rooms?" Oahu questions as he catches up to them. Perhaps they could find something of use in one of them and Oahu was all about getting the most out of somewhere they had been.

"We'd better not if they don't belong to us," Avonax replies as he remembers the angry man a couple of rooms down who had yelled at Fellwinn the night before.

Sevar agrees with Avonax and reminds the others of their current objective at hand. "Yeah, have you forgotten all about Fellwinn?"

"Who is this Fellwinn?" Zephial asks as the party moves down the staircase. The eladrin had been hearing the name spoken a lot and it was clear that they were all looking for this person, but he had no idea who they were. As everyone explains to their new companion the situation at hand, Oahu gives one last look behind him into the hallway. Everything is quiet as far as he can see, so he moves on down the stairs behind the others.

Back in the main room of the tavern, things are still lively if not as lively as last night. The very tired looking bard, who appears to have just woken up from sleep not too long ago, is still playing her lute for the customers. The group of men who had been there the night before were gone, but she still garnered a good crowd around her who watched her play. The two drunken dwarves were still at the bar, still intoxicated, and still having a good time. It was amazing that they weren't passed out on the bar top at this point, but clearly they knew how to handle their alcohol. A gnome sits alone a couple of seats down from them and the deva the party had met yesterday on the boat, Zachar, along with his goliath friend were returning a key to the innkeeper. Clearly they had also spent the night here though it was unclear when they had arrived to sleep. Zachar seemed to be gathering as much attention as Maars was. It wasn't often that two devas were in the same room and if Fellwinn were here, there would likely have been an explosion of curiosity and plenty of jaws dropped among the onlookers.

However, Maars wasn't really worried about this. He was in fact used to it now though he had only been on the island for a little less than a day. What mainly interested him was the music that the bard was playing.

"They don't have a really great selection of music here…" Maars says, disliking the title theme from the epic ballad of the Wind Waker. He strolls over to the bard as the people around her part before him. She lowers her lute to speak as he approaches and gives him a small bow. "Well met, deva. How can I assist?"

"You play beautifully," he comments as he nods a polite greeting back. "Would you perhaps have something from the land of Azeroth?"

She smiles, knowing well the fictional land of Azeroth and the epic stories, ballads, and poems that came from there. She nods as Maars drops thirty silver pieces into her palm. She smiles gratefully; the price was twice the normal fee and coming from someone from a race who was so wise and revered in history, this came as a great honor. Lifting her lute, she begins to play a new tune. No one complains in the change of music as Maars begins to walk back to the others.

At the bartop, Sevar approaches the innkeeper after the previous deva and goliath had already left. The innkeeper seemed to be trying to hide an annoyed look. He peered at Sevar and the others approaching with a look of disdain on his face. Clearly he still remembered them from the night before and all the trouble they had caused him by forcing two rooms from him. He grumbles in irritation as he thinks of the money he lost by losing two good rooms! Nonetheless, he knows he has a job to do and as the group finally reaches the counter he says, "Hello Sevar. Good night's sleep?"

Sevar nods silently. It had been a nice rest, but there were other things weighing down on his mind. "Umm, yes. I was wondering though, did you happen to see a deva from our party come through here?"

The innkeeper looks over the shifter's shoulder to where Maars is approaching from the other side of the room. He points over at him with a look of confusion, but Sevar shakes his head. "No, no, the female one. She's gone missing. We woke up and she was gone."

The innkeeper doesn't answer the question. Instead he lets it slide over him as he continues to think of how he dislikes this group. If the woman deva was missing than her belongings were likely gone too. Thinking of his business and knowing how this group liked to get free things says, he instantly says, "Do ya'll have your room keys?"

Sevar freezes in his place. He knew that he had his, Oahu, and Maars's room key as he had taken it from Oahu before sleeping the night before. However, he wasn't sure about the other room. He turns and looks over at Avonax in panic. "Oh shit. Did Fellwinn have your guys' key?"

Avonax digs into his pockets but finds nothing. He looks at Sevar helplessly. The shifter sighs, as does the innkeeper who is getting unhappier by the minute. It was always something with this group! He shouldn't even be surprised anymore.

Sevar shoves his furry hand into his own pocket and hands over the key to his room. That was one key at least, he hoped there wouldn't be trouble with the other. As the innkeeper takes the key from him and puts it away, Sevar asks him how much it would be to replace the missing one.

"Fifteen silver pieces."

"But wait, we could still go out and find her!" Maars says as he finally arrives to the group. He had heard the conversation while approaching and it seemed a bit ridiculous to pay up when they still had a good chance of finding their missing member. He wasn't about to shell out money to this buffoon. However, Sevar shrugs in defeat. He can see that the innkeeper isn't on their good side and he doesn't want any trouble. Their day had already started a bit hectic and he didn't want to make it worse with this little confrontation. Besides, he really didn't care anyways, it was just fifteen silver pieces.

Sevar reaches into his pouch and pulls out the required silver. The innkeeper holds his hand out as Sevar drops the coins into it. He's pleased that the shifter is at least doing the right thing and decides to be just a little bit nicer to them. He was still irritated that they lost the key, but at least he had the necessary money to make up for it now.

"If you find the other key though, bring it back here please." Sevar nods in agreement. The innkeeper, still trying to make at least a little more peace with the party, asks, "Also, can I get you guys any food before you head off?"

Zephial walks forward silently and pays for a meal. The innkeeper looks at him oddly as he places a group of coins down on the counter. Though it definitely happened with bar fights and the like, it wasn't often you saw a man with dirty clothes and bloodstained hair within the tavern. However, like Sevar, the innkeeper doesn't want trouble this early in the morning. Though confused and a bit irritated as to where this new man came from, the innkeeper asks no questions. He heads to the back and quickly prepares a small breakfast. Within minutes he returns with a nice set of eggs he had cooked up. He hands the platter over to Zephial who takes it quickly. The eladrin doesn't even take a seat before he starts eating. Wasting no time, Zephial digs hungrily into the food as if he hadn't eaten in months.

As he does this Avonax take looks around the room. Perhaps someone else saw Fellwinn leave. He eyes the two drunken dwarves who had been there ever since they had first stepped foot in the tavern the day before. Aside from the innkeeper, he didn't think they had left the building for over twenty-four hours. If anyone had seen their missing friend, it would have been those two.

He nods his head towards one of them and gives a warm hello. The two dwarves look over at him from their stools. One of the dwarves nearly falls over while turning. Their tiny, beady eyes stare out from behind their great bushy eyebrows and wide, lopsided smiles seem permanently etched onto their face. The red-haired dwarf gives an equally warm hello, and quite loudly too. It is clear they are completely wasted. Avonax thinks about heading over to speak with them, but at that point Zephial had already finished his meal. Avonax decides against this and thinks that it is probably for the better. He wasn't looking to get into a conversation with two drunken dwarves. So instead they all head outside into the crisp morning air.

Outside the tavern the sun is slowly rising up near the docks on the east side of Aelar's Landing. It gives the morning sky a very colorful hue of dark blue and orange. The air that flows from the water is refreshing and cool and carries with it the scent of sea salt that tingles the party's nostrils. Though there are still not many people about due to the small population of the landing, the one's who are about look busy as they head off to their jobs, their day just getting started.

The group heads north, back towards the square with the fountain in the center. The dirt ground turns back into cobblestone and from this area they can really feel the breeze coming from the ocean as it flows up through the main street from the docks. Across the fountain the gnome man who is selling mushrooms is setting up his shack for the day. He doesn't notice the group but is instead focused on his work. He pulls tools and wood from a large crate near him as he sets up his shack. Several large men, human, half-elfs, and one elf, head past them to the east as they head for some of the ships unloading on the docks. The group stops near the fountain as they discuss what to do next. The sound of the water lightly splashing in the fountain is soothing and it helps to wake the five men up.

Oahu begins speaking by explaining that he wants to head over to the mission where he was told he can watch how the shifters learn. That was one of the main reasons why he and Sevar had come to the island – to learn more about the native shifters here. Clearly that wasn't happening though as it seemed that Sevar had found new friends to occupy his interest. So to please the rest of the party he also adds in that he believes Fellwinn may have gone there too. However, as always and much to Oahu's displeasure, the others have different ideas in mind. They all wish to head towards the museum of ancient magic.

Oahu and the others turn to look at the museum. It is a large white building directly to the west of the docks and very nearby them. As they all gaze upon the gigantic building, they can see just how large it really is.

Made of large, white stone, the museum seemed to be the head of the entire town. It was surprising they hadn't really paid it much attention at all when walking around the day before. It covered the whole western side of the plaza and as the sun rose higher and higher in the sky, it gave the structure a very regal look. It looked almost like a palace rather than a museum. If anything, the grand look of the place almost made up the groups minds for them and they all instantly settle on going there first. Not only this, but their ideas are that Fellwinn may have gone there to look at the magical artifacts. She had expressed interest in it earlier and it would seem like something she would do.

So up to the north they go, completely doing the opposite of what most of the other citizens in the town were doing. As the five of them go west, the majority of them were going other ways on their way to work without paying the museum much mind. At the foot of the building a set of large, wide stairs embeds itself into the cobblestone street before leading up to a set of wide wooden doors. The stairs flare out invitingly as if beckoning the group to come forward.

As they approach and head slowly up the stairs their excitement grows. They wonder what could be inside such a museum as this. The ideas of what the magical artifacts inside motivates them to move forward and Maars even has the idea that perhaps someone inside could tell them what the strange orb Fellwinn left behind was.

Avonax voices concern that the museum may not even be open this early, but a push on the doors shows them that it is indeed open and so the five men step inside.

The interior of the museum is just as grand as the exterior. Light green and white tiles make up the floor while the ceiling rises high above the party's heads. Two stained glass windows are inlayed high above to either side of the door and the sun shines through them at exactly the right angle creating a brilliant display of colors which splash onto the tiled floor.

Ahead of them is a gate with four guards standing outside of it, two facing the door and the other two facing each other horizontally. They wear chainmail armor covered by turquoise tabards, the same color as the floor. It is clear that they are the town guard, though the group had not seen any guards since arriving on the island aside from the ones inside the tavern who were off duty. Together the four guards stand stiff and structured.

The front of the gate is connected to a low three and a half foot high brass barrier. This was obviously to keep people from getting into the museum without going through the gate, although it did seem low enough to hop over. Clearly it was the extra protection of the four rigid, straight-necked guards which kept that from happening, though why someone would want to hop the gate in the first place was a mystery to them.

Though the room was indeed magnificent, it is not what catches the eyes of the party as the massive wood door closes behind them. Past the gate and the four guards is an interesting scene being played out as if on a stage before them. Zachar and his goliath friend were having a heated discussion with a well-armored dragonborn and an old, human man with a monocle. The dragonborn seemed to be in a fury as his face is knotted in anger and he looks as if he wants to scream out in anger. He stares at the goliath in what appears pure hatred and yet it is Zachar who is doing the talking. If it weren't for the monocled man, it looked as if the dragonborn might pounce on the two. The man had a firm hand on the dragonborn's shoulder – or as far up as he can reach to his shoulder – and he talks to Zachar in a very calm manner. Clearly those two were on good terms with one another. However, the goliath standing behind Zachar was also looking at the dragonborn with an odd expression on his face. The dragonborn matched the goliath's stare dead on and the two massive men looked as if they were locked in an intense staring contest. While the dragonborn looked like a time bomb about to go kaboom, the goliath seems almost amused by his adversary. Needless to say, the dragonborn obviously didn't find anything comical about the situation.

Just as soon as the group had time to take this scene in, the conversation seemed as if it has ended. Zachar and the goliath turn and begin to head down a hallway, past two more guards, and towards another area of the building.

As they leave Zachar looks back at the five of them as if he has just noticed them enter. His white, pupil-less eyes scan over them as if weighing each and every one of them within his mind. Yet it is only for an instant. Recognizing them from the boat, he gives them a polite nod before turning and heading further into the museum with the goliath walking behind him like an oversized dog.

Closer to them, the dragonborn turns back to the old man and looks down at him in anger. He grumbles deeply in a voice that could shake mountains, but it is still in a murmur that the party cannot hear. The old man stares up at him, clearly unafraid, and whispers what sounds like calming words. However, the dragonborn merely grunts in dissatisfaction and rage before shakes his head. He throws his hands up in the air and walks back towards the hallway that Zachar and the goliath disappeared down, all the while grumbling to himself in anger. The old man also shakes his head. It is clear that he didn't want the conversation to end the way it had. However, as he turns he sees the party in the doorway and his demeanor suddenly changes. As if nothing had happened at all, the man gives a wide smile.

The group begins to move forward, but as they reach the beginning of the small, golden gate, one of the statue-like guards suddenly breaks from his stiff routine and obstructs their path with the shaft of his spear.

"Halt. All visitors to the museum must hold their weapons here. They will be retrieved once you exit." He angles his spear down and the tip points to a small, wooden trough behind the gate and the guard opposite him. It is empty, but it is clear that he means for them to put their weapons into it before heading inside.

Avonax looks over at the others for advice. Did they want to leave their weapons behind? The other four shrug in an uncaring fashion. It was just a museum, what harm could come from it? Obviously they had very strict rules though, but it really didn't seem to make a difference.

They all begin to take off their weapons and put them in the bin. Oahu and Sevar start by pulling their heavy weapons from their belts. Sevar kisses his axes goodbye and Oahu unstraps his hammer. Maars has very little to remove, but he still contributes his morning star, and even Zephial drops his quarterstaff in which sticks out of the bucket due to it being quite long.

For Avonax, taking off his weapons took a bit longer. Though the bow was easy to take off of his back, his over four hundred arrows strapped to the many quivers on his body took the most time. Altogether they were bundled into groups of one hundred, which made things a bit easier, but it still took a little while. The guards watch him in amused silence as unequips nearly everything and the elf blushes under their amused glares. He really didn't care too much though.

_Better too many arrows than not enough._

Finally Avonax hands over the last of his quivers and stands with his arms spread, indicating that he is finally finished. The guard places the quiver atop the others in the bin and finally swings open the gate for them to enter. Together they step through and the old man quickly walks towards them. It appeared as if he'd been waiting patiently for them to enter and now that they were on the other side he was saving no expense to make them feel welcome.

As soon as they are all through the gate, the guard closes it behind them. The old man is already before them with his arms raised and his smile growing ever wider. "Welcome to the Museum of Ancient Magic!"

Up close the man didn't appear as old as he seemed to be. Though still aged, he had a youthful spirit about him that was hard to find in the elder folk these days. His hair was white and wavy. It spider-webbed out in thin waves all over the place like the rays of a sun. He appeared to be balding a little though, but for some reason it suited him quite well. His smile gleamed almost as bright as the tiled floor itself and the wrinkles in his face gave him the appearance of a loving grandparent who was welcoming his grandchildren home.

"Hello," Maars says kindly to the man. "Are you in charge here?"

"Yes, I am the museum curator. You can call me Professor Phineas and I'm here to answer any questions you may have."

He seemed kind enough, so Maars continued with the question that had originally brought them here.

"We were wondering if a female deva might have come in here?"

The professor gives a confused look and shakes his head. "No, we just opened. You and that man Zachar are the only devas in here at the moment and we don't often get devas!" He flashes another excited smile, obviously happy to be in the company of such fine persons. It was as if Maars was a celebrity, just as he had been in the mission and on the boat ride over. He doesn't make any notice of it though and takes the excitement in stride.

Oahu steps forward and quickly reminds Maars about the item that belonged to Fellwinn. Remembering, Maars reaches into his pouch and pulls it out. Again he feels the strong pull of magic the orb it exuded, but not as wildly as he had earlier that morning. It was as if now that the artifact had been found, it was almost resting itself and letting the magic sit dormant until it could be put to use. Maars holds it out towards Professor Phineas who adjusts his monocle and looks down at the object in interest.

"Could you perhaps identify this item for me? It was left behind by a missing friend of ours."

Phineas takes the item and begins to look it over. As he grasps onto it he rolls it around on the palm of his hand and looks through it to see the smaller orbs trapped within. He even replaces his monocle with a more focused one to better study the carvings on the outside of it. He does this for about twenty second or so before putting his original monocle back on and shaking his head in flustered frustration.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what it is."

A little disappointed, but not completely disheartened, Maars takes the stone back and places it back within his pocket. Professor Phineas looks even more dissatisfied than Maars though and says in honest sorrow, "I'm sorry I can't answer these questions any better. I feel like I'm giving you bad news."

Maars shakes his head, "No, that's not it, we're sorry for asking so many questions."

The old man laughs softly to himself and this time it is his turn to shake his head. "Ha, please, it's a pleasure to have guests come to the museum."

At this point Oahu steps forward, pushing his way through the others to stand next to Maars. Professor Phineas looks over at him and Oahu poses the question on everyones mind by saying, "We saw that you were having a small quarrel with that dragonborn earlier. Is there a problem?"

Avonax and Sevar stare at Oahu's back with daggers in their eyes. True, it was something they were all curious about, but they weren't going to flat out ask the man about his personal business! However, Phineas doesn't mind the blunt question. He gives another smile and again shakes his head. "Kriv?" He asks, referring to the large dragonborn from earlier. "No, it's nothing. He's just a bit on edge lately with all the bandits and such. But really, it's nothing to worry about."

"Bandits?" Oahu ponders, his ears twitching at the sound of the word. "Is the town having a problem with these bandits?"

Phineas grimaces. He had obviously spoken out of line and quickly corrects himself. "It's best to talk to the captain himself about that or perhaps check the news at the guard tower."

A silence falls over the group at the news of bandits and so the party thanks him for his time. "Not a problem," the wizened old professor says. "Please, enjoy the museum and come back with any other questions you have. Also, behind me is an arcane shop selling components for rituals and such if you ever need them." He points with his thumb at a small hallway leading off to a room on the side wall.

The five of them choose to ignore the shop and instead move forward towards the hallway that Zachar, the goliath, and the dragonborn, Kriv, had headed down earlier. It seemed to lead into a larger main hall and into the heart of the museum. As they begin to enter the hallway, one of the two guards on either side of the entrance asks for their tickets before entering. Sevar reaches into his pouch and grabs all five of the yellow slips before handing them over. The guard checks them over and for a moment the group thinks they may have been jipped by the innkeeper. Maybe they were fake tickets? However, the guard soon puts the tickets in his pocket and tells them to move along.

Avonax, who is behind the others at this point, steps up to the hallway after the rest of them. He looks down at the other guard lining the entrance who hadn't taken their tickets and shoots him a haughty look. "I've got four hundred arrows you know." He begins to walk away smugly, but the small gnome guard places a hand out and stops Avonax at his chest.

"That's great, but I need at least one ticket to let you enter. They're two gold a piece," he says in a small, squeaky voice. Still, however shrill his voice was though, his look showed that he meant all business.

Avonox is confused. Hadn't Sevar already given their tickets to the other guard a moment ago? He looks down at the gnome in bewilderment as he scratches the back of his head. The gnome looks up at him with what Avonax guesses was supposed to be a serious frown.

"Ummm… I'm with them," the elf says as he points at the other four members of his party who are already making their way down the arched corridor. The guard turns and looks at the strange group. Seeing them, he gulps down some saliva in nervousness as he realizes his mistake. Now his comeback didn't seem as great anymore.

"Oh… so it's a group then? This is all one group?" He circles his pointy gnome finger around in a circle to symbolize all of them. Avonax rolls his eyes and nods, not sure what the little guard was failing understand. The guard nods and waves Avonax through, who passes by with a tiny, annoyed laugh. Still on duty, the guard stares ahead again albeit with a more embarrassed face. He sighs sadly. He hated being talked down to by people taller than him. It was never fun being the little guy.

Avonax jogs ahead and quickly catches up to the others just as they are entering the main hall of the museum. The elf slows to a walk as he enters the room as the enormity of it rapidly takes the breath out of him. The room was tremendously large, bigger than the entrance hall by far. If the entrance was something to marvel at, this room was definitely something out of a dream. All five of them are momentarily stunned into paralysis by the immensity of the room as they take in all there is to see.

The ceiling of the area rose up high into the sky and was barely visible in the darkness. The only light source was in the center of the room where a giant green and black sphere floated over an enormous pedestal. Light green swirls circled and danced within the globe in a carefree, wavy fashion. They twirled and mingled with the black swirls, creating an odd effect as if the sphere were made of glass and water. Its glow illuminated the entire room at ground level revealing other colossal artifacts to either side of them.

One object to the left of them was a very large, ruby-red vase which stretched towards the ceiling. It looked like it belonged to a giant who may have used it for a teacup because none of them could think of any other use for it aside from that. Across from it and to the party's right was another large object. This one was a very primitive looking statue which was made out of rough stone. It towered far over their heads and looked as if someone had carved it from a mountainside. Though very rough, the statue was clearly the figure of a man standing with his arms held out and his hands placed together. This formed his arms into a circle with the main form of the body. It looked as if the statue were begging or perhaps praying to something while standing up.

Farther down the hall were two other very large artifacts in the corners of the room. One was another statue, this one just as tall as the other. However this statue looked much more modern and finely crafted. It was of a half-elf man who stood proud and tall. He had a bow in his hand and looked to be someone of great importance. Across from it was a giant pink crystal that sparkled red in the light of the swirling, magical sphere.

The party is amazed by the immensity of these objects and they immediately want to have a look around. As their initial shock fades away they all begin to move in the direction of some of the artifacts. Though before they get very far they are all stopped by a suspicious glare from a man across the room.

It was dragonborn, Kriv, who stood near the orb in the center of the room. The dragonborn's golden scales shone softly with the illumination of the globe and his dark eyes hover ed over the group in an accusing squint. He looked angry as before and almost evil in the soft light.

Not liking the look he is shooting their way, Avonax starts to walk over to him. He was already on a roll with his smart quips after talking to the gnome and he figured he might as well give this guy a hard time too. He wasn't about to let some random nobody make them feel like ants beneath his boot. There was no reason for his nasty looks and Avonax was going to make sure that he knew who he was dealing with. The rest of the party watches on, already knowing what Avonax's intentions are.

Seeing the greatsword strapped on the dragonborn's back he says, "And how come you're allowed to carry weapons in here when we aren't?"

The dragonborn looks down at him, his eyes squinted to slits. He turns to peer down at Avonax, his plate armor clinking as he shifts his large body. He glares harshly at Avonax who is barely phased beneath the stare of this giant man. In a gravelly, harsh voice, the dragonborn says, "Is the _captain_ of the town guard not allowed to shoulder his weapon to protect the peace?" His voice carries a hint of angered irritation and for a moment, Avonax isn't sure what to do.

For the first time he is at a loss for words and under the scrutinous eyes of the dragonborn, his heart rate finally begins to rise. He decides to keep his mouth shut. Maars whistles softly beneath his teeth knowing his elf friend just got burned.

Instead of letting Avonax take all the heat from this guy, the deva steps forward to try and make peace. "Please sir, excuse my friend. We just noticed that you were looking at us as if we had done something wrong."

The dragonborn looks up with the same angered look as before. As he stares at the deva, it didn't seem possible, but he appears even angrier than before.

"Well, I was looking at _you_ more than anyone else," he says to ruthlessly to Maars.

Maars is a bit taken aback. Who was this guy to say that to him? What had they done but enter the museum in search of their missing friend? It wasn't like they had cheated their way inside, they had had tickets and they even got rid of their weapons for the sake of this place!

The dragonborn continues, "Did you come in with that deva and goliath earlier?"

Maars shakes his head, "No, we're not with them. Why is something the matter?"

The dragonborn growls again in his gravelly, deep voice and continues, "Well it's not really the deva… just his goliath friend. I don't like him. He's not a good man."

Remembering the bandits that Professor Phineas had spoken about earlier, Maars continues onto that subject.

"Why do you want to know so much about the bandits?" Kriv presses, unsure of how or if he should trust this bizarre group of strangers.

"We're simply trying to help," Maars offers, opening his hands in a peaceful gesture. "As you can see, we're an adventuring party. We're looking to, you know, help out and stuff." He waves his hands gesturing towards the others behind him. Kriv looks up with a scowl. He doesn't seem very impressed.

Oahu snorts at Maars comment. "Says who? What're we doing, solving mysteries now? Are we the Scooby-Doo gang?" As far as he was concerned, he wasn't part of this 'adventuring party.' At this point he was just along for the ride because for some reason Sevar and him hadn't left yet. He was ready to go at any point though, but it seemed that Sevar had made some new friends or something, much to his displeasure. However, Oahu couldn't help but feel that he was getting his point somewhat across as Sevar says, "Yeah, we haven't even found Fellwinn yet."

At this point Captain Kriv had heard enough from the group. He growls under his breath in irritation and says, "If you want to help out or something go talk to my lieutenant. But as for now, I've got work to do. Sorry for jumping to conclusions about you and the other deva." With that he walks over to the large vase in the bottom-left corner of the room and stands guard as he was doing before. Though it was only them in the room and two other ladies looking at the large crystal, the dragonborn seemed extremely on edge as if something were going to pop out of thin air and attack him.

The group shrugs it off. They had other things to worry about aside from a rude dragonborn. Oahu tells the group that they should head back out to find Fellwinn, but the others insist on staying a bit longer.

"We just got here, I want to look around a little bit. We don't want to waste those tickets," Avonax tells him as he and goes off to look at some of the artifacts on display. Sevar follows him and with a roll of his eyes. Oahu follows Sevar.

Zephial heads off to a side hallway between the large, primitive statue and the crystal. It led to another room which, although equally as long as the main hall, was not as large. However, there were a number of interesting artifacts around as in the room, though nothing as grand as the large statues and floating sphere's in the main hall. To his left is a sign that leads to the restrooms. The wizard heads towards it quickly. Not having relieved himself since he had gotten to the island was getting to him. It still blew his mind that he had been thousands of miles away just earlier this morning while being attacked and now he was here.

He passes by a human guard who is blocking the path up some stairs and goes into the bathroom to take a leak. Once finished, he heads right back out and past the guard again before entering the main hall. The scene is much as it was before. The other four however were moving about the room and inspecting some of the artifacts. Zephial walks over to the orb to take a look at it and wait for the others. The room didn't seem to have a very large magical energy about it, and he wasn't much impressed by these artifacts either.

Meanwhile, Oahu is up near the statue of the half-elf. He looks up as the statue of the man towers above him, proud and tall. It certainly didn't look primitive like the other and it didn't seem very magical. The shifter peers down towards a plaque on the base below him and begins to read it as Sevar approaches him from behind. He also looks down over the plaque to read.

Aelar Statue

A statue of the half-elf general Aelar who first found the island.

"This guy must have been a badass when he found this place," Sevar comments with his feline friend. Oahu nods in agreement, but doesn't say much. Not getting much conversation out of him, Sevar turns and begins to head towards the large pink crystal across from them. He

He crosses the room quickly, passing a hallway with a red rope blocking access and a sign that says, 'Museum Staff Only.' It blocks a wide hallway leading further into the building. As he heads towards the other side he looks down the hallway and watches as it curves out of sight, probably leading off toward another room. He doesn't pay it much mind for ahead of him the crystal is drawing nearer. In the greenish glow from the orb, it seemed almost menacing as the light rays hit the translucent pink surfaced and caused ruby rayed colors to dance across the wall.

The two women who had been there earlier were still looking at the statue. Though they weren't facing Sevar, they didn't appear unattractive and Sevar wasn't about to be unfriendly. He strides straight up to them and steps in between them. They barely notice him as their eyes are transfixed on the crystal, so he says, "Hello ladies!" to announce himself. They turn to look over at the shifter, clearly confused at who he is and why he is so close to them. Now that Sevar could see them clearer in the light, he could see that the brunette was a bit older than the blonde, possibly in her forties though she was still attractive for her age. It was likely the blonde one was her daughter.

"Hello," the older one says. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I was just looking at this crystal. Is it very magical?"

"Ummm… I don't think so. I doubt much of this stuff is very magical at all."

She seemed friendly enough, and honest too apparently. He was a bit curious as to why nothing in here seemed very magical though. Perhaps this museum was trying to scam people with their money? It was an interesting thought, but one that he wasn't about to jump to conclusions on. Sevar leans over between them and reads the plaque to identify what exactly he was looking at.

Chaos Emerald

A pink chaos emerald. Holds great magical energy.

"OOOOOoooo, a chaos emerald!" Sevar says with delight as he looks back up and recognizes the pink crystal. He laughs to himself in joy at finding a chaos emerald all the away out here on Aelar's Island. Turning, he looks back over at the rest of his companions who are scattered throughout the room.

"Come look at this guys, it's a chaos emerald! A pink one!"

No one seems to hear him except the two woman who still look mildly irritated and confused. Sevar turns back toward them and, recognizing their expressions, tries to say something to calm them down.

"So, have you guys heard about the mission in town?"

Seeing a chance to contribute to the situation, the younger of the two women speaks up. Sevar is grateful for her speaking up to him, but instead his heart drops as he hears her say, "Oh, are you going there to learn and study?"

She becomes very quiet after saying this. Her face begins to blush and, realizing that the comment might be a bit rude, tries to look away. The older woman speaks for her, "Please excuse her. Yes, it is just outside the town."

Sevar quickly says he didn't think it was rude at all as he tries to make the conversation a bit less awkward. He quickly asks her about her opinion on the mission. She willingly speaks up to him and says, "I think it's a good thing. It'll give the shifters on the island an opportunity to learn more about our civilization and life. Perhaps we can all coexist here together one day."

Her ideas are very noble and Sevar can see that she is sincere. However, Not wanting go intrude on their day any longer, Sevar thanks her for her time and heads back over to the floating green sphere in the center of the room. Avonax, Maars, and Zephial are all looking up at it in wonderment. "What is this thing," Sevar hears Avonax say as he approaches.

Maars reaches a hand up to try and touch the ball but it is out of his reach, even for his height. As the colors swirled around within it, Maars wonders if his hand would go through the ball or feel a solid outside. It looked like glass from the outside, but the deva was inquisitive and the question of what he was looking at burned inside of him. "I don't know, but I can feel the magical energy flowing around it."

Zephial goes up to them in an effort to chat with his new companions. As a wizard, he had seen things like this back on the mainland and they were almost always used for show. Wanting to contribute to the group, the eladrin wizard explains, "This is a floating ball of energy. It's not used much more but for decoration, I think you'd find the other artifacts more interesting. This ball is just fueled with magic by the museum's staff I'm sure."

The others nod as they listen to him as Oahu crosses the room to join them. Once together, they decide to head off into the side hallway where Zephial had gone to the bathroom. Together the five of them pass through a small hallway and into the stretched room. As they enter they take in all the artifacts lying about.

Many wooden tables line the walls with a variety of unique objects on top of them. Maps and strange ornaments lay around on top of red, cloth that is placed on the table. At one end of the room opposite that of the guard is a giant rock with some runes etched onto it with what must have been some sort of blue, magical energy. Small wooden plaques on podiums line the room in front of some of the larger items. However, as with the room before, though there was some dormant magic lingering in the air, nothing really popped out at the five of them.

Avonax eyes the guard who stands lazily in front of the hallway. He looks a bit slumped over as if he were tired and his uniform appears to be a bit big on him. Thinking they might be able to learn something from him, Avonax suggests they ask him something.

"What about the floating island!?" Maars thinks in excitement, remembering the pact they had made the day before about getting onto the mysterious landmass. Surely someone who works for a museum of ancient magic would know a bit about such a strange event!

"Yeah!" Sevar yells in a whoop of agreement.

Zephial however, feels left in the dark. "Wait… there's a floating island?"

The four other man chuckle a bit as they look over at their new friend. It suddenly occurs to them that Zephial probably had no clue about the floating island. Though it was indeed mystical and Aelar's Island was new, the discovery of the floating island had been glossed over as people on the mainland tended to focus on news that was closer to home. It wasn't as if Zephial had chosen to come to the island either, so there was no reason to know.

"Oh yeah, look up when you're outside," Oahu jokes to him as they move forward once more. Zephial takes the news un-phased although a little more curious.

They reach the guard quickly and Avonax approaches him first. "Excuse me sir."

The human guard looks up at them from his slouch and the group finally sees just how young he really is. Pimples cover some of his face and long, blonde, greasy hair runs down his face. His loose armor suddenly makes sense as he looks up at them. However, though young he retains a professional attitude as he says, "Yeah? How can I help?"

"Do you know anything about the floating island near the middle of the island?"

The boy thinks for a second and smiles foolishly, "It's a trip. I can tell you that." Avonax laughs and the group smiles at the naivety of this young man as his official demeanor breaks. Clearly he isn't very well trained. The group makes no comment of it though and instead Avonax continues to ask if he knows anything else about the strange island in the sky. However, the elf's questions get nowhere as the guard shakes his head no. Disheartened, the party begins to make their way back to the main hall.

"This museum is kind of a bust," Sevar states. Oahu jumps behind him with a coercing smile and slyly says, "Well then let's go to the mission!" It had been what he wanted to do in the first place after all.

Maars looks over at Oahu as they pass back down the narrow hallway towards the man hall. He shakes his head at him and explains, "No, I think we should find out a little bit more about these bandits. These guys apparently _really_ don't like to talk about it."

"We just got here though," the elf says. "I kind of want to look around."

Zephial agrees, "Yes, there could be more here that we could see."

As they enter into the cavernous main hall they come into into a similar situation they saw not a few moments ago. Again, Professor Phineas and Captain Kriv are arguing heatedly between the passage to the entrance hall and the large, floating sphere. However, this time Phineas doesn't look nearly as happy. He throws his arms about wildly, as if trying to convince Kriv of something that the stout dragonborn absolutely does not want to hear. The dragonborn simply continues to shake his head no as Phineas whispers intensely under his breath.

The group stops, unsure if they should interfere with the discussion. They weren't about to get in the way of something that clearly wasn't their business. On the other hand, after a few seconds of just standing and watching, things were becoming a bit awkward and they begin to wonder if they should go confront the two mismatched men and see what the problem was. However, just as they come to this conclusion, they watch as Professor Phineas throws his hands up in the air once more and storms off towards the rope-blocked hallway which lead further into the building. Clearly the dragonborn wasn't listening to him and the old man had given up. Even as the Phineas leaves though, the tense feeling in the air remains and after Captain Kriv watches him go he instead turns his small, beady eyes upon Maars with clear distrust.

"That guys looking at you again Maars…" Avonax says. Even though the elf himself wasn't being looked at, it still felt uncomfortable. Clearly if the man didn't like Maars, he probably didn't like the lot of them either.

Sevar scrunches his furry face in dislike, "What a dick." However, Maars is more confused than angry.

"What the hell did I do?" The deva asks softly.

"I don't know," Avonax says as he looks over at his friend. "Go over and confront him."

Maars nods firmly and walks directly over to the captain. He wasn't about to let this dragonborn bully them again. He thought they had already made peace, but apparently not. Kriv makes no move at the deva as he approaches, but instead watches him carefully like a hawk intending to take down prey if it made any sudden movements.

"Captain, I mean no disrespect but I noticed you looking at me _again_. Have I done something wrong?"

Kriv glares at him and looks firmly into the deva's bright, pupil-less eyes. "I just want to make sure you really aren't with that other deva, Zachar, and his goliath friend." He ends that with a sting of dislike in his gravely voice which Maars is quick to pick up on. "You really don't like that goliath."

Kriv sighs and shifts his massive feet a little. His armor clinks softly as he moves and though it seemed extremely heavy, the man wore it almost as if it were a second skin. For the first time that they had seen him, the dragonborn finally breaks his stiff resolve and looks down at his feet. It was almost as if he were ashamed of something, though what it could be Maars didn't know.

"That goliath used to be a part of a mercenary group back on the mainland called the Red Hand," Kriv explains with a deep grumble. "And this goliath was one of the most brutal members. And wherever he goes, or any Red Hand for that matter, trouble is sure to follow."

Captain Kriv looks back up at Maars with a somewhat softer look than before. The deva nods to him as he finishes his explanation. "Well, I understand. But I give you my honest word, I do not know that deva or the goliath."

Kriv bows to him and again apologizes, this time a bit more sincere than the last. "Then forgive me deva for once again jumping to conclusions. It's just I am on edge lately. I don't trust him or –"

There is sudden burst and crackle of energy as two red lights appear on the floor on either side of the floating, green orb. Everyone turns their heads in surprise as small red lines in an ancient script begin to form in the shape of a circle on the tile floor. They glow ominously casting deeper shadows in all corners of the room. The green shimmer of the orb is paled in comparison to the dark, ruby red light that the circles illuminate throughout the walls of the room. Everyone recognizes them instantly.

They are summoning circles.

"_I knew it!_" Kriv yells as he reaches for his longsword.

A goblin warrior suddenly appears from thin air on the circle and looks around the room with its tiny, black eyes. It looks much like the others the group had seen yesterday beneath the tavern, however this one was a bit different. It had on different necklaces made of a variety of animal bones strapped around its neck. It's clothing and skin color were also a bit different, as if it weren't from the same area as the ones they had seen earlier. The goblin turns to the six of them as they stare on in shock and shrieks out a loud screech, sending spittle flying out from behind its crooked, blackened teeth. It rushes forward towards Kriv and Maars with a spear raised high in its tiny claws.

Maars is barely able to respond as he watches this all happen within a matter of seconds. He watches as the goblin rushes forward, ready for the inevitable spear through him.

Kriv is too quick though. Just in the nick of time he pulls out his longsword with a quick _schwing_ and jams it through the goblins chest and heart. Blood splurts out the goblins back and mouth as the blade impales itself through the creature. The blade is more than long enough to spear itself straight through. The dark blood slowly begins to drips down onto the beautiful tile floor, splashing more red onto the reflection of the summoning circle lights.

As Kriv pulls his massive sword from the goblin, more creatures begin to pour out through the circles. Clearly that one goblin warrior had been the least of their worries. Goblins and kobalds alike appear, their terrifying shrieks echoing through the spacious hall.

Kriv turns towards the party with a frantic look on his scaled face. "Run, get out of here! I'll hold them back!" He then turns back to the nearest circle as two more of the short, armored goblins appear. Like an oversized bulldozer, Kriv raises his sword and charges with a yell of, "_For Bahamut!"_

Chaos suddenly reigns down around them as screams and clashes of steel on steel break out throughout the museum halls. Human-like screams begin to mingle with those of the goblins and kobalds. They echo throughout the hall and from other parts of the building, followed by large bangs and crashes.

Sevar glances down the hall toward the chaos emerald where the two woman are running from a group of bloodthirsty goblins. "Not the girls!" He screams as they run out of his sight and into the roped off area. There is no way to them as more and more goblins begin to appear from the circle. A flush of anger rushes through him as his adrenaline begins to pump itself up. Those were innocent people! They didn't deserve this! Agitated, the shifter flips his head back towards the party and yells, "I'm going for my weapon!"

With that, Sevar runs off without another word. He flies into the hallway leading towards the entrance, not even caring what the others are yelling after him. Whatever they were yelling, it didn't matter now. Shit had hit the fan. A red haze fills his eyes, not just from the summoning circles but because of the rage building inside of him. He _had_ to get his axes and join the fray before it was too late!

However, as he gets back into the entrance hall, he slows his run to a jog as he realizes that he may already be out of time to do anything of importance. The damage is considerable for the building having just been attacked. The six guards which occupied the room earlier, including the forgetful gnome, are all dead. However, the shifter was not alone. As the last guard falls to the ground, Sevar watches as a small kobald pulls a roughly made spear from his chest and through his armor. The kobald hisses in delight as it yanks the spear clean of the corpse. The beast has motley tan skin and reptilian like features which give it all a more hideous appearance. The creature turns its elongated, mottled head to Sevar as the shifter stops at the threshold of the hallway. A necklace of many small kobald skulls clink together as it turns and gives what looks like a very disturbing smile. It almost seems joyful to see Sevar, happy to know that there is more blood to be shed.

Sevar breaks his gaze from the kobald and quickly scans his surroundings as he rushes forward to the bin at the gate – if it could be called a gate anymore. The barrier which previously kept people out now lies in ruins on the ground. The brass bars which interlocked together to creature the structure were all but twisted and unrecognizable now, their dull color faded by the dust and debris that had settled over it. Rubble and giant stone have fallen to the floor from the ceiling to the shifters left as he passed by it and worse than that, several large bricks had also fallen in front of the colossal, wooden doors. With the door blocked, there was no way to open them and the wood looked glossy enough that it couldn't be burnt down. They were trapped and it wasn't likely that anyone from the outside would be getting in anytime soon.

Not letting this get to him, Sevar brings his attention back to the bin on the ground. Luckily for him, it was still intact and inside were all the groups weapons. They had been untouched. Sevar's heart gives a leap of excitement as he jumps over a puddle of blood and in front of the bin. The shifter reaches one furry claw down quickly. His axes were right as they were, and though a bit dusty, they still looked razor sharp. The shifter holds them up to the light and finds his own reflection staring backs at him. He smiles at himself and his pointed teeth appear back at him. However, that wasn't the only thing looking back at him in the reflection. There is sudden movement close behind Sevar and it is getting closer.

His heart working overtime, Sevar turns. It is too late.

There is a searing pain as a dagger drives itself deep within the shifters stomach. His body begins to throb and he grunts as the dagger is pulled back out. Blood begins to trickle out of the tiny wound and down onto his brown fur. It begins to clump and mat it together before Sevar's very eyes. The shifter opens his mouth in shock, unsure of what to say. He looks up to see another kobald before him. He had been so quick to run for his weapons, he hadn't even realized that there were other enemies in the room!

There is another hot pain on his back as another kobald comes behind him and slashes down with a spear. Sevar screams in agony as his back convulses under the gash. A warm sticky sensation comes over him and his back tingles as more blood begins to ooze out. His vision falters for a moment as he watches yet _another_ kobald a couple feet away loading up a sling with a pellet. The creature whips the sling around its head and suddenly lets loose. The pellet flies towards Sevar and for a moment the shifter is sure he is done for, but the pellet flies past him and hits the wall.

_Note to self: don't go running ahead without the others from now on…_

As if responding to his very thoughts, the rest of the party make their way into the museum entrance. They stop, as Sevar did, as the full impact of the damage sinks in. However, they don't wait long as they notice their friend getting attacked near the bin. Avonax is quick to respond and nimbly rushes forward for his weapon. One of the kobalds takes a swipe at the elf as he passes, but Avonax is too quick! The ranger simply slides under the dagger and stops with his foot against the bin!

Not wasting a moment, Avonax grabs the bow and all four hundred of his arrows before dashing off a couple of feet away towards the side hallway which apparently led off into the museum shop. He pulls an arrow from one of the quivers at his side and fires it off toward the kobald on the far side of the room. However, the weight and awkwardness of carrying all four of his quivers weighs him down and his shot is off. It bounces onto the floor before it can get any real momentum.

Avonax curses his bad luck as he begins tying his quivers back onto his body. It would take up a little time, but having his quivers back on and attached to his armor would feel much more natural and get the elf a little more level headed as he prepared for battle.

Things were never easy though and the situation went from bad to worse as there is a sudden hiss to Avonax's right. The elf turns in shock as a creature burrows itself outwards from beneath some rubble to face him. It is a fire beetle. The insect is almost one-third the size of Avonax and massive compared to an ordinary beetle. It clearly didn't look friendly either. Red-orange eyes glare at the elf as it hisses, steam rising from its mouth. It's clear back swirls with and orange and yellow, pulsating as the beetle takes in long drags of air. Avonax quickly steps back, trying to distance himself from the monstrosity.

Oahu is next to charge into the fray. He wastes no time in backing up Sevar. He wasn't about to let his friend die, even if he was incredibly foolish! Slipping past the kobalds, who were too distracted by the appearance of Avonax to do anything else, Oahu dives towards the bin and grabs his hammer and heavy shield. The metal end of the hammer hits the side of the bin and creates a deep bell-like sound which catches the attention of the nearest kobald. The creature turns and hisses in anger at it's latest enemy. The two shifters stand there, scowling back at the beasts.

With a savage yell, Oahu takes a large swipe at the kobald's green head and the fight is on!

Maars comes in next with Zephial taking up the rear. Seeing the chaos that is happening, Maars quickly calls out Phobos to deal some damage. A white mist appears and the spirit panther seems to jump out from it, appearing in midair. Maars smiles as he roars with her head tilt back. Without wasting a second, she instantly eyes the first kobald skirmisher what had attacked Sevar. With a silent poof of vapor, Phobos again disappears before materializing before the creature in question. The kobald turns just as Phobos appears and gives a loud screech before the panther jumps at him. Though she is translucent, her claws leave searing gashes of blood upon the kobald as she takes swipes at him from the ground. His nearby cronies watch in horror as Phobos leaves large wounds in her vicious attack before vanishing once more into her cloud of mist.

As for Zephial, he is slowly realizing that he has had a very bad day. It seems he's gone from one battle and been ported almost directly to another.

_Rennac couldn't have ported me somewhere else? Anywhere else!?_

The sounds of screams echo from all around him and violent snarls or rage pierce the fighting behind him where, presumably, Kriv is taking care of the other intruders in the main hall. It would appear that he had no choice, but to kill or be killed. With that in mind the wizard raises his hands into the air begins to chant magic words beneath his breath. He spews them out rapidly, focusing his energy to create a magic missile strong enough to kill one of the kobalds attacking his new allies. Though his quarterstaff lay sticking out of the bin behind Oahu, Sevar, and the three kobalds, Zephial knows he doesn't need it in order to harness his natural talents. He had an affinity to magic and was well versed in all of its forms – even the combat spells.

Pointing his hand outwards toward one of the skirmishers, a blue streak of magic appears that races forward and takes the kobald directly into the chest. The cobalds beastly eyes open in shock as the missile sears itself through his armor and into his skin. Though the shot was well aimed, it was not strong enough to completely take out the kobald. Instead, Zephial had only succeeded in pissing it off. It was of no matter though. Zephial begins to chant again, preparing himself for his next attack. He would wittle the creature down eventually, it was only a matter of time.

The fight continues for some time as Sevar and Oahu exchange blows with the three kobalds surrounding them. After distancing himself from the fire beetle, Avonax makes this way around the room quickly, trying to find the best angle for his shot in these close quarters. He barely had enough room to fire! Maars is quick to heal both of the shifters while channeling his primal power through Phobos. The spirit animal's mist seems to flow outwards towards the two shifters, giving them a renewed sense of strength while at the same time she snarls at the kobalds, ready to pounce for her master and allies.

Zephial remains in the back, raining down magic missiles everyone that gets too close for comfort. He takes a quick peek back into the main hall only to find that it has gone silent. From what he can see by the glow of the distant sphere, blood smears the floor of the room. The red glow of the summoning portals are gone as if they had been closed and the smell of decay already wafts towards him. As he turns back to the battle at hand, he is eerily stunned to find that a lot of the screams have stopped in the main hall.

"It's quiet in the other room! I think they're all dead in there!" He yells frantically to his friends.

Sevar looks over at him after cutting down one of the kobalds with his axe. Even though Phobos had been sealing his wounds with the direction from Maars, blood still drips from his body, matting his fur and making him look disheveled. "They're dead!?" He yells back at Zephial in shock. Another notion comes to him as a crushing sense of loneliness settles over him. There's no one left alive here!" A shiver runs down his spine at the thought of it.

The fire beetle, which has now begun to chomp on Oahu's foot, sees an opportunity to hit all of these strange creatures at once. Standing a little lower than the humanoids feet, the beetle was not very noticeable. It begins to draw in air and the boulbous, orange pack on its back begins to expand rapidly. After taking an another shot at the kobald, Oahu finally looks down and notices the beetle. However it is too late. The beetle lets loose and fire spews out from its mouth.

Oahu screams and lifts his hand up to cover his face as Sevar does the same. A wave of heat washes over them from head to toe and the two shifters yell out in pain. Oahu's plate armor begins to turn red from the temperature and his body fur begins to sizzle. Sweat and blood begin to ooze out from under his breastplate. Sevar, with less armor on than his friend, gets the full blow of the attack and watches as some of his fur begins to catch fire. Unfortunately for the kobald that Oahu had just struck in the head with his hammer, the beetle also hits it. The creature barely has time to scream before its flesh begins to peel away from the lacerations. It's blood boils from the heat and it collapses to the ground in a mush of unrecognizable goo.

Sevar grits his teeth and begins to hobble away from the beetle and the one other kobald near them. His vision blurred, it was hard to see where exactly he was going. It wasn't that he wanted to leave Oahu behind, but the other _was_ the better fighter by a longshot. Plus, the pain was becoming too much for him and he didn't know if he could make it any further if he wasn't healed. Fortunantly for him, Maars was trying to do just that. Though the deva stood silent as if stunned by the violence around him, within his mind he was communicating with the many spirits of the world, trying to encourage Phobos to reach Sevar before it was too late.

Unfortunately for Sevar, a kobald slinger in the corner of the room behind the broken, brass gate, begins to fire at Sevar nonstop. He sees that his allies are weakening this shifter, so he too must help out. Putting a four fingered claw into a small wooden pouch at his waist, the slinger pulls out a small pot. It appears empty, but the kobald knows better. It is a stinkpot, with a stench perfectly designed to un-focus its victim. However, just as the kobald places it in its sling, Sevar steps out of the fire behind some rubble. The kobald is not disheartened though; and it is not stupid. Keeping the sling raised, the slinger raises it to the next bloody thing in the room: Oahu.

The kobald lets loose and the pot soars through the air. It smashes into the side of Oahu's head, knocking him off balance for a moment. The shifter shakes his furry head for a moment, trying to catch his bearings. It hadn't hurt him too much, but the smell that now radiated from him was horrendous. From a few feet away Sevar gags in disgust. Even Phobos whines and coughs with repulsion before disappearing and reappearing somewhere a bit farther away. The only person who didn't seem to mind was the kobald that Oahu was currently engaged with and for that matter, neither did Oahu. He shrugs it off and takes in a deep breath of air, ignoring the offensive odor.

"I'm a shifter, it's whatever."

Sevar gives him a strange look, not quite understanding the comment, but he doesn't have time to argue as the fire beetle tries to take a bite at his foot. Sevar jumps away in surprise. He never really did like bugs and whenever one got close to him he was sure to smash it. So that's exactly what he did. Reflex taking a hold of him, the warden summons the power of the earth. As if solid stone were entering his body, Sevar quickly feels empowered and strong. He raises his axe into the air with a yell and brings it swinging down onto the beetle. Sevar barely feels any resistance as he hears a squishing sound before the axe hits the tile floor with a crash. He opens his eyes to see the fire beetle with its face nearly ripped in half. The left side of its face begins to slide down towards the floor, the eye on that side popped and oozing orange goo. Hot blood sizzles on the ground as it hits the floor and the beetle makes a few gurgling noises before quickly limping away from its attacker. It scuttles into the ritual shop and out of the battle. Though a bit disgusted, Sevar feels a sense of pride at scaring the beast away and smiles at his own power.

Back in the bottom corner of the room, the kobald slinger has taken aim at Avonax. The elf had been making his way around the room, trying to fire off shots at the kobalds, but with no luck. There just wasn't enough room!

Trying to get a bit closer, the kobald makes his way toward what is left of the bronze barrier and tries to jump over. However, his reptilian feet get caught between the railing and the kobald falls downwards onto his face. Hope wasn't all lost though. At least he had made it to the other side. However, as the creature turns upwards he feels fear for the last time as several blue streaks of magic fly towards him and into his body. He spasms a couple of more times before stopping and fading away.

From across the room, Zephial lowers his hands while laughing at the kobalds clumsiness. He hadn't used magic missiles in this amount for a long time, not even this morning during the attack. He was very much liking the results! Avonax was also liking the results. He knew he was being stalked by the kobald and their new addition to their party had just saved his life; or at least from a couple of serious injuries.

There is a sudden cacophonous crash as a large rock lands in front of Avonax from the ceiling. Avonax stops abruptly with his mouth open in shock. A couple feet forwards and the elf would have been crushed! Clearly the building wasn't holding up well under all this fighting.

At this same moment there is a high-pitched woman's scream in the room the beetle went into. Sevar turns from his wounds to look. His heart skips a beat.

"There's someone in there!"

However, Avonax isn't paying attention. He is trying to fire an arrow at the kobald facing Oahu, but he can't line up the shot correctly. Suddenly an idea pops into his head. It's a bit crazy, but Avonax thought of himself as an expert archer. Plus, typical fighting was never his style. He lowers his bow for a moment and yells over to Oahu as the shifter dodges a stab from the kobald's spear.

"Oahu, hold up your shield and I'll ricochet a shot off of it and hit the kobald!"

Oahu looks over at him from above the battle with a wild look in his feline eyes. "Are you insane!? That's crazy!"

Avonax shrugs, "Come on, we've got to try something!"

Oahu sighs in disbelief. Was this guy serious? Or just trying to get him killed. He _had_ said that he didn't like shifters, but this wasn't really the time to try and pull anything on him. The kobald suddenly jabs its spear at Oahu again and this time he is a bit closer to his mark. Oahu moves out of the way as he watches the spear dart in front of his vision before backing out again.

"That's crazy, what are the chances of you actually landing the shot!?"

"Just trust me!" Avonax yells back as he raises his bow at Oahu. The shifter cringes, afraid that Avonax might loose his grip over the notched arrow.

After a few more seconds of bantering, and the kobald getting more and more accurate with every jab, Oahu finally gives in, "Fine, just do it! Do it!"

Working quickly before the kobald can attack once more, Oahu holds up his shield and turns to Avonax. The elf smiles and focuses in on the shield very quickly before the kobald can act. He has one shot… and he can't mess it up. He aims… aims… and fires.

The arrow leaves the string with a twang. It flies inc-by-inch through the air in a straight, perfect line – but not accurately. The arrow hits Oahu's shield, but not in the correct location. Not only this, but Oahu is not prepared for it. The force from the arrow knocks the shield into Oahu's mouth and the shifter lets out a grunt as his lip begins to bleed. The arrow then slides up the shield and finds its way into Oahu's arm.

"Ouch, _fuck_!" Oahu yells, in anger. Sevar and Zephial laugh.

Avonax smiles sheepishly, "Sorry, I tried!"

The kobald looks confused. Even with its tiny brain, it knew that a stunt like that would have never worked. Taking advantage of Oahu's defenses dropped, the kobald stabs its spear at Oahu, but the shifter is still quick and dodges it. Even with the pain, Oahu had been in many battles before and knew how to handle himself.

Sevar, now feeling a bit better thanks to Maars and Phobos, travels to the small room across the hall. There were no other kobalds on this side of the room now so the shifter met no resistance. Only the dead, gory bodies of the ones they had killed along with the deceased guards. He peers inside but can see and hear nothing in the unnatural darkness. Maars heads over next to him and stretches his neck to look into the small passageway. Though he could not see as well as Sevar could because he did not have cat-like eyes, he uses his other senses and strains his ears to hear. From somewhere in the darkness he can hear a slight whimpering. It is very eerie and Maars recoils back into the bloody, but nonetheless brighter room, in surprise.

"What is it Maars?" Sevar asks. Maars looks over at him, his eyes shining in the light. He lowers his voice and whispers that he hears someone inside. He didn't want to scare whoever it was away with a loud voice. For all he knew it could be a civilian and they were likely incredibly frightened.

At that moment Oahu strikes down the kobald he had been facing. The creature knew it had been fighting a losing battle, but it stuck it out to the end. However, there was little it could do as it watched the hammer come down upon its face with a sickening crack. It feels as its skull drives itself into its brain before everything goes black.

Oahu watches as the kobald's body falls limply to the ground. He gives his body a little shake to get it going as he tries to calm his nerves from the fight. He had killed before but he never really did like fighting, even if he was an expert at it. His testosterone still pumping, he moves to his left and strides straight into the ritual shop where Maars had heard a woman whimper. Neither the deva or his shifter friend stop him as he passes for they too are curious as to who or what lay inside the ritual shop.

Inside it is very dark, but Oahu can clearly see. Shelves line the walls of the small room with a variety of clear bottles and herbs in baskets lying atop them. A small counter is in front of him with more shelves behind it. It appeared as if no one were in the room, but as Oahu makes his way past the counter he finds what had made the noise crouched down behind it.

A very frightened, middle aged woman was there holding a bloody, gooey pestle. The smashed body of the fire beetle lays before her, its boiling blood still softly bubbling on the tile ground. It was obviously dead. The appearance of Oahu, a shifter she had never seen before in her life, doesn't do much to calm the woman's nerves. Crawling more into herself she closes her eyes and screams, "Please, please, take anything you want just please don't hurt me!"

Oahu ponders this for a second. He, literally, could take anything he wanted right then and there. Plunder and steal. They deserved it didn't they? They had just, technically, saved her life. And she didn't know they had just been tourists, come to see the museum at the wrong time. However, for all his thoughts about looting the entire store, he tries to suppress his renegade side by simply saying one simple line to her: "You should probably get out of here."

Back in the entrance hall, one final kobald stands in the corner next to some rubble. It is completely frightened and worried out of its mind. It fidgets backwards, trying to press itself up the rubble, as if it would help as there was a wall behind it. Avonax and Zephial slowly walk over to it, but are sure to keep their distance.

"Should we kill it?" Avonax asks as it watches the creature squirm. It was a bit pathetic watching it looks so frightened when moments ago it had seemed so vicious with all it's buddies around. At the moment though, it was doing nothing. "I mean, it's not really hurting us."

"Nah, I got it," the eladrin says as he holds up his hand. He wasn't about to let this guy get away from them and get some of its friends. A fiery missile shoots out from his palm and takes the kobald in the eye. It gives one final, weak cry, and falls to the floor. Avonax shrugs and Zephial smiles at a job well done. They head back to Maars and Sevar who were now entering the store after Oahu.

In the store, the frightened woman asks Oahu if he took care of the monsters. He nods and, having regained some of her courage, she hands him a small vile of red liquid. "Take this. It is a potion of healing, it'll help you out I'm sure if you're going back out there." Oahu stares down at it enviously and takes it from the woman's shaking hands. It was better than looting the store he supposed and it was a nice reward for all the work he had just done.

Maars and Sevar settle in behind Oahu and he turns to look at them. Avonax and Zephial are close behind. As they all converge into the tiny store, they look at each other in the eye without saying a word. The museum had fallen fairly silent except for the occasional rumble of a battle some far distance away and the woman, still slightly whimpering from fear and still hiding behind the counter. As their eyes all lock on to each other and their breathing slows as they regain their wits, all of them seem to come to a silent conclusion. For some reason, all five of them knew without saying anything that this hellish day had just begun.

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: Brandon (Fellwinn) had moved to Washington in between the last session and this one. That is why the new character Zephial was added, played by another friend of ours. Although Fellwinn and Brandon are gone, the character is still part of lore.

* * *

**Character History**

**Zephial** (Austin) _(Zeh-feel)_

Race: Eladrin

Class: Wizard

Height: 5'11"

Weight: 140

Age: 150

Deity: The Raven Queen

Alignment: Unaligned

Gender: Male

I am Zephial, an eladrin wizard. I am 150 years old and only middle aged. I am from a place known as the Faeland and traveled far across countries to find myself in Raleo. For the time being, I resided in the Drake Forest.

Something terrible happened though. Our town was attacked and my best friend, Rennac, a former royal guard of King Marinio, was killed. Yet I was ported to a distant island called Aelar Island. I appear to a group of people; strangers.

With no way to return and no way to know what happened, I decided to befriend and travel with this group, to seek vengeance.

* * *

**Pictures**

-Fellwinn's Stone

-Professor Phineas

-Captain Kriv Durogat

-Zephial

NOTE: TO ACCESS PICTURES GO TO (www)(photobucket)com/user/Link4000z/profile/ AND GO TO ALBUMS. CLICK 'CORRUPTED EQUILIBRIUM' AND CHOOSE THE CORRECT CHAPTER.

* * *

**Music****:**

Tavern Upstairs

Title – Title

Artist – Koji Kondo

Album – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Original Sound Tracks

NOTE: PLAYED SOFTER THAN WHEN IN THE TAVERN.

* * *

Tavern

Title – Title

Artist – Koji Kondo

Album – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Original Sound Tracks

* * *

Tavern

Title – -

Artist – Jason Hayes

Album – World of Warcraft

NOTE: PLAYED ONLY AFTER REQUESTED BY MAARS. ANY SONG CAN BE PLAYED FROM THIS ALBUM.

* * *

Aelar's Landing

Title – Windfall Island

Artist – Koji Kondo

Album – The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker – Original Sound Tracks

* * *

Aelar Museum of Ancient Magic

Title – Tri-State

Artist – Above & Beyond

Album – Tri-State

* * *

Aelar Museum of Ancient Magic (Battle)

Title – -

Artist – Jeremy Soule

Album – The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind Soundtrack; The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion; The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The Original Game Soundtrack

NOTE: ANY BATTLE THEME FROM ANY OF THESE ALBUMS WAS PLAYED DURING THIS BATTLE.


End file.
